India's first Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025 will be held from August 21 to 23 at the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar. This grand three-day event will feature 409 athletes from across the country, including 202 women.
Sports News: The first Khelo India Water Sports Festival (KIWSF) 2025 is scheduled to take place from August 21 to 23 at the renowned Dal Lake in Jammu and Kashmir. This three-day event will host over 400 athletes from across the nation, with a total of 24 gold medals at stake. Athletes will showcase their skills in Olympic disciplines such as rowing, canoeing, and kayaking.
This festival is also special because it will be the first joint Open-Age Category Championship, featuring all 14 kayaking and canoeing events and 10 rowing events. To make the games even more exciting, there will also be three demonstration events—water skiing, Shikara boat sprint, and dragon boat race.
A New Direction for Water Sports
This will be the first joint Open-Age tournament to include all 14 kayaking and canoeing events and 10 rowing events. The organizing committee stated that the competition course has been prepared according to all international standards. To further enhance the attraction for players and spectators, three demonstration events have also been included:
- Water Skiing
- Shikara Boat Spring
- Dragon Boat Race
The aim of these events is not only competition but also to promote tourism.
Participation of 36 States and Union Territories
Athletes from 36 states and union territories will participate in the festival. Teams from Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha, and Kerala are considered b contenders.
- Largest Team: Madhya Pradesh (44 athletes)
- Significant Teams: Haryana (37), Odisha (34), Kerala (33)
- Smallest Teams: Gujarat, Puducherry, and West Bengal
Bilquis Mir, the organizing committee's manager and former World Cup canoeist, said, "Since the Services team is not participating, the competition between players from different states will be very interesting. This event will create new opportunities for both sports and tourism in Jammu and Kashmir."
Qualification and Preparation
Kayaking and Canoeing: The national competition held in Tehri (Uttarakhand) in November 2024 served as the qualifier. The top 15 players (singles/doubles) and the top 8 teams (team events) were selected for this festival. The top 8 players from the national competition held in Bhopal in March 2025 also qualified. Many international-level athletes who have represented India will participate in this competition. The biggest name among them is Arjun Lal Jat, who participated in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and won a silver medal in the lightweight double sculls at the Asian Games 2022 (Hangzhou).
28-year-old Jat, who will be playing from Delhi, said: "This is my first Khelo India event, and I will be competing in the men's singles sculls. Such events not only provide opportunities to players but also bring regions like Jammu and Kashmir onto the global sports map."
