Nicknames |
|
---|---|
First played | India |
Characteristics | |
Contact | Permitted |
Team members | 15 players per side, 12 in the field in 4 batches and 3 extra |
Mixed-sex | No |
Equipment | None (except the two poles on the court) |
Glossary | Glossary of kho kho terms |
Presence | |
Country or region | Indian subcontinent |
Olympic | Demonstration sport: 1936 |
Kho kho is a traditional South Asian sport that dates to ancient India. [1] [2] It is the second-most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. [3] Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connecting two poles which are at either end of the court. During the game, nine players from the chasing team (attacking team) are on the field, with eight of them sitting (crouched) in the central lane, while three runners from the defending team run around the court and try to avoid being touched. [2] Each sitting player on the chasing team faces the opposite half of the field that their adjacent teammates are facing.
At any time, one player from the chasing team (the 'active chaser'/'attacker') may run around the court to attempt to tag (touch) members of the defending team, with one point scored per tag, and each tagged defender required to leave the field; however, the active chaser cannot cross the central lane to access the other half of the field, and cannot change direction once they start running toward either pole. The chasing team can get around these restrictions if the active chaser either switches roles with a sitting teammate (by touching them on the back while saying "Kho") who is facing the other half of the court and therefore has access to it, or runs to the area behind either pole and then switches direction/half. Each team has two turns to score and two turns to defend, with each turn lasting nine minutes. The team that scores the most points by the end of the game wins. [4]
The sport is widely played across South Asia, and also has a strong presence in the regions outside South Asia, such as South Africa and England. It is played most often by school children, and is also a competitive sport. [5] The first league of its kind called Ultimate Kho Kho was unveiled in India in August 2022. [6]
The name comes from Marathi : खोखो (khō-khō), [7] the word kho is an onomatopoeia of the sound invoked while playing the game. [8]
Kho kho has been played since at least the fourth century BC. [9] Certain aspects of kho kho's gameplay may have been mentioned in the Mahabharata. In pre-modern times, it is believed that a version of kho kho known as Rathera was played on chariots ( ratha meaning "chariot" in Sanskrit). The game was also known in ancient times as "Kho-dhwani krida", translating as "a game where the sound 'kho' is made". [10]
The modern form of the game was standardised in 1914, with its rules and formalised structure being given by Pune's Deccan Gymkhana club. Kho-kho was demonstrated at the 1936 Berlin Olympics alongside other traditional Indian games. It is now a medal sport in the South Asian Games, having first been played in the 2016 edition. [4] Other international kho kho competitions, such as the Asian Kho Kho Championship, have been held with the collaboration of organisations such as the Kho Kho Federation of India and the Kho Kho Federation of England, [11] [12] with the sport having been spread overseas by the South Asian diaspora. [13] Within South Asia, it has been accepted into major sports events such as Khelo India and the National Games of India, [14] with its growth supported by its simplicity and affordability. [15]
Kho kho's rules and appearance have changed over time; it was generally played on muddy surfaces in the past, but today is often professionally played on matted surfaces. [16] [17] This transition has altered the game, as more energy is required to run on a matted surface, with injuries also increasing to some extent. [18] [19] [20] Various other aspects of the game, such as the poles and the dimensions of the playing field, were also added over time. [21]
In July 2022, the player draft for Ultimate Kho Kho was completed, which is a six-team franchise-based Indian Kho Kho tournament. Its inaugural season ran from August 14 to September 4, 2022. [22]
Kho Kho Federation of India conducts the National Championships for men, women and juniors every year and the latest edition, the 56 edition, 2024 National kho kho championship (India) concluded in Delhi on 1 April 2024 with Maharashtra winning both the men's and women's National titles. [23]
The field is 27 by 16 metres (89 by 52 ft), with a distance of 24 metres (79 ft) between the two poles, and the central lane having a width of 30 centimetres (12 in). Each of the cross lanes (which pass through the sitting areas that the chasers sit in, and go from one side of the court to the other) has a width of 35 centimetres (14 in), with adjacent cross lanes 2.3 metres (7 ft 7 in) apart, and a separation of 2.55 metres (8 ft 4 in) between each pole and its adjacent cross lane. Each pole is 120 to 125 centimetres (47 to 49 in) high and 9 to 10 centimetres (3.5 to 3.9 in) in diameter. The poles are smooth and round, with no sharp edges. There are 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)-long extensions of the court behind each of the poles known as "free zones", in which there are no restrictions on chasers' movements. [4] [24]
At the start of play, the active chaser starts off in one of the free zones, and can run into either half of the court to tag the three defenders. Once all three defenders have been tagged out or otherwise "dismissed", the next "batch" of three defenders comes onto the court. [24]
The active chaser can switch roles with a sitting teammate by touching them on the back and shouting "kho"; this is known as the active chaser "giving a kho" to the sitting teammate. One kho must be given by the active chaser upon the dismissal of a batch before the chasing team can tag any players in the next batch. [4] For the kho to be valid, it must be given before the active chaser has gone past the cross lane that the teammate is sitting within, with the sitting teammate not moving/rising before receiving the kho. Once a sitting chaser becomes active, they may only enter the half of the court which they were facing while they were sitting; additionally, once the newly active chaser steps to the left or right of the cross lane they were sitting in (or turns in such a way that their shoulders face towards either pole), they must continue in that direction until they have reached the free zone. Also, once the newly active chaser steps out of the central lane, they cannot step back into the central lane while tagging a defender. [24]
Violating any of these rules results in a "foul", in which case the chasing team can no longer attempt to tag any defenders. In order to clear the foul, the active chaser must move in the opposite direction of the one they were running in (i.e. away from the defenders they were chasing) until they have either given a kho to a teammate, or reached the appropriate free zone. [24]
The chasing team scores points each time a defender is ruled "out" (dismissed), which happens either when a chaser tags a defender without breaking any rules, when a defender steps out of the court (with no part of the body remaining grounded within), or when a defender is late to enter the court as part of a new batch after the dismissal of the previous batch. [24] [25]
In the case of a tie, some matches have a tiebreaker known as a "minimum chase", in which each team is allotted an additional turn to score. Each team's turn ends once they have scored one point, with the team that is faster at scoring a point during their minimum chase turn winning the match. [24]
In one variation of kho-kho, a team is no longer allowed to chase once it has tagged all the players on the other team. The team that tags all of its opponents in the shortest amount of time wins. [26]
In this variant, the field is modified so that it is simply a 5 m (16 ft) inner circle and a 7 m (23 ft) outer circle, with the outer circle acting as the boundary of the field. Instead of sitting, eight of the nine chasers stand in positions evenly spaced around the perimeter of the inner circle, with each alternate chaser facing into or away from the inner circle; when a chaser is given a kho, they can only run in the inside or outside of the inner circle depending on which way they were facing while inactive. [27]
This variant is played on a circular field, with an inner circle and outer boundary being demarcated. At the start of the game, two of the players become a cat and mouse respectively, with all other players becoming pitchers. All of the pitchers pair off and stand around the perimeter of the inner circle, with each pair holding each other by the elbow. The cat's goal is to tag the mouse; if the mouse links their elbow with one of the pitchers, then the pitcher who is not connected to the mouse disconnects from the pairing and swaps roles with the mouse. If the cat catches the mouse, then they swap roles. [28] [29]
In one variation of elbow tag, when a mouse links their elbow with one of the pitchers, the pitcher who disconnects from the pairing becomes a cat, and the previous cat becomes a mouse. [30]
The same game is known as 'standing kho-kho' in South Asia, a variation of the Indian tag variant kho-kho. [31] In the 'standing kho-kho' variant, players simply stand in front of or behind each other as opposed to hooking their elbows together. [32] [33]Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) is an Indian kho kho competition, and its first season took place in 2022.
UKK rules follow the standard rules of Kho Kho with the following exceptions: [34] [35] [36]
Kabaddi is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players, originating in ancient India. The objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their players as possible, and return to their own half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders in 30 seconds. Points are scored for each player tagged by the raider, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider. Players are taken out of the game if they are touched or tackled, but return to the game after each point scored by their team from a tag or tackle.
In many team sports, defense or defence is the action of preventing an opponent from scoring. The term may also refer to the tactics involved in defense, or a sub-team whose primary responsibility is defense. Similarly, a defense player or defender is a player who is generally charged with preventing the other team's forwards from being able to bear down directly on their own team's goalkeeper or goaltender. Such positions exist in association football, ice hockey, water polo and many other sports.
Tag is a playground game involving one or more players chasing other players in an attempt to "tag" and mark them out of play, typically by touching with a hand. There are many variations; most forms have no teams, scores, or equipment. Usually when a person is tagged, the tagger says, "It!" or "Tag, you're 'It'!" The last one tagged during tag is "It" for the next round. The game is known by other names in various parts of the world, including "running and catching" in India and "catch and cook" in the Middle East.
Bat-and-ball games are field games played by two opposing teams. Action starts when the defending team throws a ball at a dedicated player of the attacking team, who tries to hit it with a bat and run between various safe areas in the field to score runs (points). The defending team can use the ball in various ways against the attacking team's players to force them off the field when they are not in safe zones, and thus prevent them from further scoring. The best known modern bat-and-ball games are cricket and baseball, with common roots in the 18th-century games played in England.
In team sports, substitution is replacing one player with another during a match. Substitute players that are not in the starting lineup reside on the bench and are available to substitute for a starter. Later in the match, that substitute may be substituted for by another substitute or by a starter who is currently on the bench.
In sports, out of bounds refers to being outside the playing boundaries of the field. The legality of going out of bounds, and the ease of prevention, vary by sport. Sports that use this term include American football, Canadian football, field lacrosse, basketball, rugby union, rugby league, and association football.
Duck, duck, goose is a traditional children's game often first learned in preschool or kindergarten. The game may be later adapted on the playground for early elementary students. The object of this game is to walk in a circle, tapping on each player's head until one is finally chosen; the chosen player must then chase the picker to avoid becoming the next picker.
Kabaddi, is a contact sport, native to the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the most popular sports in India, played mainly among people in villages. India has taken part in four Asian Games in kabaddi, and won gold in all of them. Four forms of kabaddi played in India are Amar, Suranjeevi, huttuttoo, and Gaminee. Amar is generally played in Punjab, Haryana, the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world, mostly by Punjabi sportsmen. Suranjeevi is the most played form of kabaddi in India and the world. This is the form used in international matches generally and played in Asian Games. Huttuttoo was played by men in Maharashtra. In Gaminee style, seven players play on each side and a player put out has to remain out until all his team members are out. The team that is successful in outing all the players of the opponent's side secures a point. The game continues until five or seven such points are secured and has no fixed time duration.
Atya patya is a traditional South Asian tag sport played by two sides of nine players. It is more popular in rural areas of India. It is more commonly played in Maharashtra, a western Indian state. Atya patya is described as a "game of feints". The playing area comprises nine trenches, coming out of either side of a central trench; a point is awarded to the attacking team's players for each trench they cross without being tagged out by the defensive players within the trenches. The game ends after 4 innings of 7 minutes each, with each team having two innings to score. It has been described as a game of "militant chase". The sport is played in a relatively small area and requires no equipment, similar to other games indigenous to India such as kabaddi, seven stones, kho kho, gillidanda and langdi.
Langdi is a traditional South Asian field sport which combines elements of tag and hopscotch. It was originally played during the Pandiyan Dynasty and called "Nondiyaattam" at that time. The teams alternate chasing (attacking) and defending roles in each of the 4 innings of the game, with the chasing team's players restricted to hopping around on one foot, and attempting to score points by tagging as many defenders as possible within the 9 minutes of each inning. It is described by Marathis as a sport with a Marathi ethos.
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Bengali traditional games are traditional games that are played in rural parts of the historical region of Bengal. These games are typically played outside with limited resources. Many games have similarities to other traditional South Asian games.
World Chase Tag is an international championship for competitive parkour involving the game of tag. Events have been televised on NBCSN in the United States, and on Channel 4, ITV and BBC Three in the United Kingdom. Events have also attracted millions of views online.
India has several traditional games and sports, some of which have been played for thousands of years. Their popularity has greatly declined in the modern era, with Western sports having overtaken them during the British Raj, and the Indian government now making some efforts to revive them. Many of these games do not require much equipment or playing space. Some of them are only played in certain regions of India, or may be known by different names and played under different rules and regulations in different regions of the country. Many Indian games are also similar to other traditional South Asian games.
Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) is an Indian franchise-based kho-kho league started in 2022. It is hosted in collaboration by Dabur with the Kho Kho Federation of India. The inaugural season had a viewership of 64 million, 41 million of which came from India, making UKK the third-most viewed non-cricket competition in India after the Pro Kabaddi League and the Indian Super League.
The 2022 season of Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) was the inaugural season which began August 14, 2022 and ended September 4, 2022. There were six teams playing a total of 34 matches. Odisha Juggernauts beat Telugu Yoddhas 46-45 in the final. The season had a viewership of 64 million, 41 million of which came from India, making UKK the third-most viewed non-cricket competition in India after the Pro Kabaddi League and the Indian Super League.
Pakistan has many traditional games played in the rural and urban areas of the country.
South Asia has many traditional games and sports. Two of them, kabaddi and kho-kho, are played at the South Asian Games, with kabaddi also featuring at the Asian Games. Many of these games are played across the entire subcontinent under different names and with some rule variations, while some of these games may be played only in certain countries or regions.
Kho kho is a popular traditional Indian game that is a variation of tag. Within India, it is played between states in the National Games of India and between franchise teams in the Ultimate Kho Kho league, which has the backing of the Kho Kho Federation of India. At the international level, India plays kho kho in the South Asian Games.
This is a glossary of kho kho terminology.