Olympian Arjun Lal Jat will headline the field as over 400 athletes compete for medals in 24 events at the Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025, scheduled at the iconic Dal Lake in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, from August 21 to 23.
KIWSF 2025 will be available to watch on live streaming and telecast.
The KIWSF is the latest addition to the Khelo India calendar and will be the inaugural consolidated open-age national championship in water sports.
Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025 sports list
- Rowing
- Kayaking
- Canoeing
- Water skiing (demonstration sport)
- Dragon boat racing (demonstration sport)
- Shikara boat sprints (demonstration sport)
Athletes from all of India’s 36 States and Union Territories will be in action at the inaugural Khelo India Water Sports Festival.
With the Services team not participating, the focus will be on states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha and Kerala, which have consistently produced strong water sports athletes. Madhya Pradesh will send the largest contingent with 44 competitors.
The star attraction, however, will be rower Arjun Lal Jat, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian and 2023 Asian Games silver medallist, who will represent Delhi in men’s single sculls.
“This is my first Khelo India event and I will participate in men’s single sculls. I expect each participating team to deliver their best,” Jat said. “Such events should happen more, as it will provide a platform to the athletes of Jammu and Kashmir to represent India at the international level.”
KIWSG 2025 will see near-equal participation from men and women – of the 409 athletes entered, 202 are female. Youngsters like Madhya Pradesh’s Suhani Meena in rowing and Rajasthan’s Nitish Chaudhary in kayaking are among those to keep an eye on.
The 24 medal events include 14 in canoeing and kayaking and 10 in rowing.