Nikhil B.

Nikhil is from Kuriyathi village, Uzhamalakkal panchayat, Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala. He is the son of A. Binu Kumar, a truck driver, and homemaker Bindu, a former kho kho player. She introduced Nikhil to kho kho, and he has a twin brother, Nidhim and another brother.^[1] He did his schooling at Sree Narayana Higher Secondary School. His first coach in the school was S. Sanjay Kumar.^[6] He completed his bachelor's degree in physical education. He played for SNSC Kerala team.^[7]

In January 2025, he was part of the Indian team that won the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup at New Delhi.^[8] The Indian team were placed in Group A and defeated Nepal, Brazil,^[9] Peru and Bhutan in the group stages. In the quarterfinals, India defeated Sri Lanka and beat South Africa 62–42 in the semifinals.^[10][11] In the finals, India defeated Nepal 54–36 to lift their maiden World Cup.^[12]

In domestic events, he represented Kerala in the Senior National Kho Kho Championship and won a bronze medal. He also participated in the Khelo India Youth Games and won a silver medal as part of the Kerala team.^[7]