Khelo India Water Sports Festival: Top Coaches See KIWSF As Springboard For Global Success

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Srinagar, Aug. 25: The sun may have set on the Khelo India Water Sports Festival (KIWSF) 2025, but the ripples it created at the iconic Dal Lake are being seen as a new dawn for India's water sports.

For the first time, India witnessed a consolidated, national-level, open-age competition featuring rowing, kayaking, and canoeing - all Olympic events. Hosted by the Jammu & Kashmir Sports Council under the supervision of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the event marked a milestone in the country's sporting calendar.

The performances across the three-day festival (August 21-23) left coaches and athletes brimming with optimism. Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Kerala emerged as the top three states, powered by athletes training at state academies and SAI centres of excellence.

While MP dominated the podium with 10 of the 24 gold medals, Odisha and Kerala's spirited performances showcased the depth of India's talent pool. For coaches, the message was clear: the race to global podiums - including Los Angeles 2028 - has already begun.

A Festival of Firsts at Dal Lake

The Dal Lake Games featured 24 gold medals, including 10 in rowing. Athletes like Rasmita Sahoo, Bidya Devi Oinam, Shruti Tanaji Chougule (Odisha), Dally Bishnoi, Shikha Chauhan, Pallavi Jagtab (Madhya Pradesh), and Vishal Dangi (Uttarakhand) made a mark, igniting fresh hope in kayaking and canoeing. Many of them train at SAI's five centres across the country, which together accounted for five gold, seven silver, and three bronze medals.

Odisha's Jagatpur centre was especially impressive, producing three golds and five silvers. Madhya Pradesh's State Water Sports Academy of Excellence in Bhopal stood out as a model ecosystem for nurturing talent, while Kerala's backwater-based SAI centre in Alappuzha carried forward the state's rich legacy in water sports.

Coaches Back Athletes for Global Stage

Behind the medals were stories of unrelenting preparation and belief. MP coach Ankush Sharma attributed his team's success to "months of intense preparation and disciplined training," while assistant coach Champa Mourya highlighted the focus on mental toughness. Odisha's Laisharam Johnson Singh spoke of "silver today, gold tomorrow," underlining the value of exposure and experience. Kerala coach Prithviraj Nandkumar Shinde pointed to fundamentals and legacy as the state's strengths.

Dalip Beniwal, SAI's High Performance Manager at Jagatpur, summed up the festival's impact: "The Khelo India Water Sports Festival is a springboard for kayaking and canoeing in India. With the right exposure, our athletes can replicate the success of our rowers on the global stage."

A Gamechanger in Indian Sports Policy

The KIWSF aligns with the Khelo Bharat Niti, India's new sports policy focused on grassroots upliftment, structured competitions, and exposure to global standards. With government support through schemes like TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) and TAGG (Target Asian Games Group), experts believe India can soon compete for medals at the Asian Games and Olympics, where more than 30 medals are at stake in kayaking and canoeing alone.

As the sun set over Dal Lake, India's water sports community left with more than medals - they carried ambition, confidence, and the promise of a new chapter in the nation's sporting story.

The Khelo India Water Sports Festival (KIWSF) is a new addition to the Khelo India calendar. Organised at Dal Lake, Srinagar (August 21-23, 2025), the event featured six disciplines - rowing, canoeing, kayaking, water skiing, shikara race, and dragon boat race. Athletes from 28 states and Union Territories competed in this open-age meet. This was the second major Khelo India event in J\&K after the Khelo India Winter Games in Gulmarg.