New Delhi, June 24 (IANS): The 2024-25 Khelo India women's kho-kho season starts with the zonals in northern India. Punjab will host the age-group events and those will be followed by the senior national phase 1 league in Uttar Pradesh. The North Zonal championship, in Amritsar from June 25 to 27 at the Sri Guru Harkrishan Senior Secondary Public School in Sur Singh, will see teams from eight states and UTs compete in the sub-junior and junior categories.

The top four age-group teams in each age group of the North Zone event will vie for a share of the Rs 2.40 lakh prize money pool. Punjab girls are the defending champions in both the junior and sub-junior categories.

The senior national phase 1 championship, which will have a prize pool of Rs 6 lakh, will be held at the Meerut Institute of Technology from June 28 to 30. Fifteen players each from 12 State and Union Territories will compete. Delhi are the defending champions.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is supporting the Kho-Kho Federation of India to run the competition across the country. The total prize money for the entire season is Rs 42 lakh.

The success of the Khelo India Women's Kho-Kho League over the past three seasons can be gauged from the fact that India were the emphatic winner of the 2023 Asian Kho-Kho Championships in Assam. Indian women defeated Nepal by a staggering 33 points and an entire innings.