Aug 22, 2025: The inaugural three-day Khelo India Water Sports Festival (KIWSF) commenced at the iconic Dal Lake here on Thursday with over 400 athletes participating in the event, officials said.

In the disciplines of rowing, canoeing, and kayaking, the athletes are vying for medals. Over the next three days, 24 gold medals could be at stake. To add to the glamour of the festival, 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.
It will be interesting to see how the states perform and compete since Services will not participate in these Games as a team. The course has been prepared keeping all international specifications in mind and we are all set to go,” Competition manager Bilquis Mir, a former World Cupper canoeist and an Olympic judge, said. KIWSF is a new addition to the Khelo India calendar.

Two brand-new events were added in 2025. In May, Diu hosted the Khelo India Beach Games. As per the Khelo Bharat Niti, both the Water Games and Beach Games are aimed at promoting sports and attracting tourism.
For kayaking and canoeing, the last nationals held at Tehri (Uttarakhand) in November have been used as a qualifier. At KIWSF, the top 15 singles and doubles and top eight fours will compete. For rowing, the top eight from the nationals held in Bhopal in March will take part, officials said.

There will be international flavour as well. 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 light-weight double sculls at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Men and women will share nearly equal roles in the games. 202 of the 409 medal-seeking athletes will be female. At KIWSF 2025, Madhya Pradesh (44), Haryana (37), Odisha (34), and Kerala (33) will have the most participants. According to officials, Gujarat, Puducherry, and West Bengal have the smallest teams. The water sports festival is the second Khelo India event in Jammu and Kashmir after the Khelo India Winter Games held in Gulmarg.