Excelsior Sports Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 20: The best athletes from across the country will vie for 24 gold medals in the inaugural ‘Khelo India Water Sports Festival (KIWSF) 2025’, set to begin at the iconic Dal lake here on Thursday.
The three-day event, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said, will see more than 400 athletes compete in medal events across rowing, canoeing, and kayaking.
The festival marks the first consolidated open-age championships, featuring all 14 Olympic kayaking and canoeing events along with 10 Olympic rowing events.
Adding to the spectacle, three demonstration events-water skiing, shikara boat sprints, and dragon boat races-will also be held.
Athletes from 36 States and Union Territories will participate, with attention on strong contenders from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Kerala.
“Since Services will not take part as a team, it will be good to see how the states compete and perform. The course has been prepared to international specifications, and we are all set to go,” said competition manager Bilquis Mir, a former World Cup canoeist and Olympic judge.
It is to be noted here that the KIWSF is the latest addition to the Khelo India calendar. Earlier this year, the first Khelo India Beach Games were held in Diu.
As per the ‘Khelo Bharat Niti’, both the Water Games and Beach Games are aimed at promoting sports while boosting tourism.
For kayaking and canoeing, the top 15 in singles and doubles and the top eight fours from the national championship in Tehri last November have qualified.
In rowing, the top eight from the nationals held in Bhopal in March are set to compete.
The event will also feature top names, including Arjun Lal Jat, an Army rower representing Delhi, who competed in the Tokyo Olympics and won silver in lightweight double sculls at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
“This is my first Khelo India event, and I will compete in men’s single sculls. I expect every team to give its best. Such events provide a platform for athletes from Jammu and Kashmir to aim for international representation,” he said.
Interestingly, the festival has near-equal participation from men and women. Of the 409 athletes, 202 are female.
Madhya Pradesh (44), Haryana (37), Odisha (34), and Kerala (33) are fielding the largest contingents, while Gujarat, Puducherry, and West Bengal have the smallest teams.
“For a water sports person like me, this climate and these facilities are amazing. I’m getting a chance to meet athletes from across the country and learn from their experiences,” said Nitish Chaudhary from Rajasthan, a two-time national silver medalist.
Three gold medals in kayaking and canoeing will be decided on Day 1, while all 10 rowing finals are scheduled for the closing day, August 23.
The opening ceremony, expected to be attended by Union Minister of State Raksha Khadse along with J&K dignitaries, will take place on Thursday at 6 PM.
Notably, this will be the second Khelo India event hosted in Jammu and Kashmir, after the Winter Games in Gulmarg.
Launched in 2017-18, the Khelo India initiative is aimed at building a sporting culture at the grassroots level through talent identification, structured competitions, and infrastructure development.
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