Overview

• Madhya Pradesh led the medals table with 18 medals, including 10 gold, followed by Odisha and Kerala at the Khelo India Water Sports Festival in Srinagar.
• Held August 21–23 on Dal Lake, the open-age meet featured rowing, canoeing, kayaking as medal events alongside water skiing, shikara racing and dragon boat as demonstrations.
• Hosts Jammu & Kashmir placed seventh after training at SAI’s Nehru Park centre, with Mohsin Ali, Sajad Hussain and Muhammad Hussain earning medals from modest family backgrounds.
• SAI training hubs powered results nationwide, with athletes from Bhopal, Jagatpur and Alappuzha prominent; 47 SAI trainees collected five gold, seven silver and three bronze, led by Jagatpur’s haul.
• Coaches framed the meet as a launchpad toward Asian and Olympic targets, noting all 24 golds were in Olympic events and pointing to LA 2028 ambitions.