Chessboards to hockey fields: How Indian sports are making global headlines in 2025

When it comes to sports in India, cricket will probably be the first thought of many. However, athletes across disciplines are grabbing the spotlight, and they have been pushing other Indian sports into global conversations.

Chess: India’s young champion making waves

This year began with a breakthrough in chess when Nineteen-year-old Divya Deshmukh became the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women’s World Cup. The victory came after a tense tiebreak against veteran Koneru Humpy, a match that showcased not just talent but nerves of steel.

This triumph also elevated her to the title of grandmaster, making her India’s 88th overall and only the fourth woman to achieve the honor. Divya now stands alongside prodigies like D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa, who continue to test themselves against world champions.

Now, India happens to be preparing to host the 2025 Chess World Cup in Goa later this year. So, this win definitely helped make the locals give more attention to the sport. It will be interesting to see how well the Chess World Cup will be received this year.

Hockey: Back where it belongs

If chess has given India a young face of brilliance, hockey has returned as the pride of a collective. This is a good thing because Hockey is still, after all, believed to be India’s national sport.

Earlier this month, India ended an eight-year drought at the Men’s Asia Cup by beating South Korea 4–1 in the final. The win was built on clinical execution, with goals from Sukhjeet, Dilpreet, and Amit Rohidas.

The victory also secured qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

The players and coaching staff made clear their only target had been to reach the global stage again, and they did it in style. For a country that has long carried hockey as its national game, this was more than nostalgia. It was proof that the hard work of rebuilding squads and investing in grassroots training is paying off.

Public reaction was also positive. Celebrations stretched beyond Rajgir, where the final was played, and echoed across the country. It is refreshing to see hockey find its spark again, and it came at a time when Indian sport as a whole is demanding global recognition.

Energies rising in multi-sport

Another signal of India’s sporting depth came from the Khelo India Youth Games.

Held in Bihar for the first time, the event hosted more than 10,000 athletes across 28 sports. For many, it was their first brush with competition at a national level, and the energy was unmistakable.

Maharashtra continued its dominance by topping the medal table, but the host state of Bihar also celebrated by collecting more than 30 medals of its own.

The inclusion of esports as part of the event highlighted how quickly India is adapting to the interests of younger athletes. That said, we can expect more sports-related platforms like https://www.10cricklive.com to also include it in their selection.

Kho Kho: From tradition to global stage

If there was ever a sport to show how tradition can turn modern, Kho Kho provided the answer in 2025.

India hosted the first-ever Kho Kho World Cup in New Delhi, and the home teams dominated. The men beat Nepal in the final while the women crushed their opponents with a scoreline that left little doubt about India’s superiority.

For a game once dismissed as purely local, this was a global showcase. Teams from Africa, Europe, and the Americas participated, and that only gives Kho Kho legitimacy as an international sport.

The Kho Kho Federation has publicly expressed hopes of one day seeing the game in the Olympics. The rise of the Ultimate Kho Kho League has shown that there is an audience for the sport, particularly among younger viewers.

Analytics driving fan engagement

Part of what makes 2025 remarkable is how fans consume these success stories in other sports. The chess triumph of Divya Deshmukh, the hockey comeback, the youth games, and the Kho Kho world titles all hit social media within minutes.

What used to be a cricket-heavy media space is now diversified.

Fans are just as likely to follow a Kabaddi analytics tool or a Kho Kho league highlight as they are to track a Test series. This shift tells us something about Indian sport in general. It is broader, bolder, and harder to ignore.

We just have to wait and see if more sports will share the same spotlights with those we mentioned. Kabaddi is definitely starting to be a runner-up to cricket, but it’s always exciting when more Indians do great in sports that many seem to have forgotten about.