Key Points

The Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025 will be the first consolidated Open-age category championships where all 14 kayaking and canoeing events and the 10 rowing events -- all Olympic events -- will be contested. To add to the glamour of the Water Games, there will be three demonstration events - water skiing, shikhara boat spring, and dragon boat race.

The KIWSF will see 36 states and Union Territories in action. Among them, all eyes will be on athletes from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Kerala.

"Since Services will not take part in these Games as a team, it will be good to see how the states compete and perform. The course has been prepared keeping all international specifications in mind, and we are all set to go," said competition manager Bilquis Mir, a former World Cupper canoeist and an Olympic judge.

The Khelo India Water Sports Festival is a new addition to the Khelo India calendar, which has seen two new events added in 2025. The Khelo India Beach Games took place in Diu in May. As per the Khelo Bharat Niti, both the Water Games and Beach Games are aimed at promoting sports and attracting tourism.

Suhani Meena, a water sports athlete from Madhya Pradesh, who will participate in rowing, said she was elated at being in Kashmir. "This is a great opportunity for water sports athletes since we only have a few opportunities throughout the year to participate in a national-level event. Now the Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025 will give us a chance to excel," she said.

For kayaking and canoeing, the last nationals held at Tehri (Uttarakhand) in November have been used as a qualifier. The top 15 in singles and doubles, and the top eight and fours from the nationals held in Bhopal in March this year, will take part.

Arjun Lal Jat, an Army rower who will represent Delhi, will be one of the main attractions. Jat, 28, has taken part in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won silver in the lightweight double scull at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

"This is my first Khelo India event, and I will participate in the men's single scull. I expect each participating team to deliver its best. Khelo India is very well supported by the Government of India. Such events should happen more as they will provide a platform to the athletes of Jammu and Kashmir to represent India at the international level," said Jat.

The Water Games will see almost equal representation from men and women. Of the 409 athletes competing for medals, 202 will be female. Madhya Pradesh (44), Haryana (37), Odisha (34), and Kerala (33) will have the largest contingent at KIWSF 2025. Gujarat, Puducherry, and West Bengal will have the smallest teams.

Nitish Chaudhary from Rajasthan, a two-time national silver medalist, said: "For a water sports person like me, this climate and the facilities here are amazing. I am getting a chance to meet other sportspersons from different parts of the country and learning from their experiences."

Three gold medals - all in kayaking and canoeing -- will be decided on Day 1 on Thursday. All 10 rowing finals are slotted on the final day on August 3. The opening ceremony, expected to be attended by the Union Minister of State Srimati Raksha Khadse, among other dignitaries of Jammu and Kashmir, will be held on Thursday evening.

- IANS