Advancing in Kho-kho Competitions Across the Country.

In reference to the child's game of tag, Kho Kho is a traditional Indian sport that goes way back to ancient times. The game originated in Maharashtra and was played informally for many years until the Deccan Gymkhana club of Poona formalized its popularity.

The game’s popularity has struck the country with a determination to spread it to all 47 counties after they hosted their tournament last week at the premiere club.it is one of the oldest forms of outdoor sports and has been in action since 2020 during the Covid pandemic.

A total of eighteen teams took part in this year’s Kho-Kho competition where seven teams are senior men, six teams are senior girls, four teams are junior boys and four are junior girls. Similar to tag, the objective of Kho-Kho is to hunt an opponent and score points.

Khokho has two innings separated by a brief break. Each inning has two turns lasting 7 minutes each where the teams alternate between chasing and defending. The Khokho playfield involves a rectangular of 27 meters which is referred to as the sidelines and 16 meters referred to as the end lines with vertical wooden poles at either end of the field.

In an inning, each team gets seven minutes for chasing and seven for defending. Eight chasing team members sit in eight squares in the centre line of the field. The ninth member is referred to as the active chaser who begins his chase from either post.

All the defenders must avoid being touched by the chaser while remaining within the field's boundaries. The runners enter the rectangle in a bunch of three as the third runner leaves the next three entering the rectangle.

If either of the runners is touched by the active chaser then they drift out of the rectangle or enter late. The active chaser can sub himself with any team member squatting in the square to take over by tapping him on the back and shouting Kho.

The game is played in 4 intervals of 7 minutes each with both teams having an opportunity to play as chasers and defenders. The main focus now for the kho kho federation is to spread the game across the country next year once they finish their registration with the ministry of sports.

According to Kanti Asani, the president of the coco federation the game doesn’t necessarily require equipment but rather mobility of personalities. The game’s main objective is for one team to touch as many defenders as possible.