NAME-PRIYANSHI

TIWARI

STD-XII-D

ROLL NO.-

SUB-PHYSICAL
EDUCATION
 KHO KHO

Kho kho is a popular tag and ancient sport

from India. It is played by teams of 12
nominated players out of fifteen, of which
nine enter the field who sit on their knees
(chasing team), and 3 extra (defending team)
who try to avoid being touched by members
of the opposing team. It is one of the two
most popular traditional tag games in the
Indian subcontinent, the other being Kabaddi.
Apart from the Indian subcontinent, it is also
played by the Indian community in South
Africa. Kho-kho, traditional Indian sport, a
form of tag, that is one of the oldest forms of
outdoor sport, dating back to prehistoric
India.
Contents
1. Etymology
2. Rules
3. Specifications
4. Dismissal
Etymology
The word kho seems to be derived from the
sanskrit verb root syu- meaning "get up go".
modified form of 'Run Chase', which in its
simplest form involves chasing and touching
a person. With its origin in Maharashtra, Kho-
Kho in ancient times was played on 'raths' or
chariots and was known as Rathera.
The present appearance of the game was an
adoption about the time of World War I in
1914. But at that time, there were neither any
dimensions of the playground nor the poles
which demarcate the central line. The time
factor was also missing.
The Deccan Gymkhana club of Pune,
Maharashtra so named and baptized by the
great Indian leader Lokmanya Tilak & Bhai
Narorkar drafted the first-ever rules and
regulations which symbolized the
metamorphosis of the game soon to follow.
This initial stage marked the limitation of the
playground and yet sadly lacked the poles
demarking the central line in the field.
Instead, less experienced players were
posted squatting at the ends of the latter and
chasers ran around them to return to the
midfield.
But, even then the game caught the
imagination of the experts in the field. The
experts took no time to realize that the game
demands the highest degree of quick and
brisk movements, very high grade of nerve
reflexes and tremendous stamina which are
characteristic of a supreme athlete. The game
requires all motor qualities alike speed,
endurance, flexibility, agility, strength and
neuromuscular coordination. As per merit, it
is appreciated by press, media and
spectators.
The game with its fast pace, so fascinated the
spectators that the Governor of Bombay
Presidency H.E. Lord Willingdon also
admired the merits and potentials of the
game. The years 1923-24 saw the foundation
of the Inter School Sports Organization, and
Kho Kho was introduced to develop at the
grassroots and consequently popularize the
sport. The move certainly showed the results
and the game of Kho Kho mainly owes it to
the efforts taken by the Deccan Gymkhana
and Hind Vijay Gymkhana.
In the year 1938, Kho Kho moved one step
forward when Akhil Maharashtra Sharirik
Shikshan Mandal organized zonal sports at
Akola which attracted tremendous response
from the budding enthusiasts as well as
organizers. The players were restricted to 9
players per team and sport was played
without the poles. At the beginning of the
match, players used to take 3 rounds of the
court from post to post and then started the
match. This needed yet another few reforms
which were adopted in 1943 as well as 1945.
In 1949, the game was exhibited in Sweden
and Denmark but it didn’t leave any effect on
the spectators (foreigner). After coming back
in 1949, the poles were featured in the game.
Also, the 3 rounds at the beginning of the
game were reduced to one round from pole
to pole. In 1951, even the one round was
eliminated. In the year 1955, Akhil Bharatiya
Kho Kho Mandal was established and the first
ever All India Kho Kho Championship was
organized at Vijay Wada, Andhra Pradesh in
1959-60 under the auspices of Kho Kho
Federation of India. The years 1960-61
featured Women’s Championship for the first
time in Kohlapur, Maharashtra.
Individual prizes were introduced in the year
1963. The first Man of the Tournament
"Ekalavya Award" was won by Vishwanath
Mayekar. The Woman of the Tournament
"Rani Laxmibai Award" was claimed by Usha
Anantham of Mysore.
The years 1969-70 featured the Junior age
group competitions at Hyderabad, Andhra
Pradesh. Youth under 18 Years and Boys
under 16 Years of age were two new
categories introduced where the best youth
player of the tournament was honoured by
"Abhimanyu Award". Junior Girls under 16
Years tournament was held in 1974 at
Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, where two more
categories Sub-Junior Boys under 14 Years
and Girls under 12 Years also commenced.
The best Sub-Juniors Boy & Girls was
awarded "Bharat Award" and "Veer Bala
Award" respectively. In 1970, Arjuna Award
was awarded to Shri Sudhir Parab from
Gujarat. In 1977, a diploma course in Kho
Kho & Kabaddi was introduced in National
Institute of Sports, Bangalore.
In the year 1982, Kho Kho Federation of India
organized Men’s and Women’s Yearly
Championship as Federation Cup. Kho Kho
was featured in the Asian Games, 1982 for
the first time in New Delhi. It was
appreciated by Asian countries. After looking
at its grand success Sports Authority of India
and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports,
Govt. of India deputed their coaches all over
the country to develop the sport of Kho Kho
scientifically at grass root level.

Looking at its success, it was one of the main

featured during 12th South Asian Games,
2016 held at Guwahati, Assam from 5 to 9
February 2016. It happened just because of
the sincere efforts of Shri Rajeev Mehta,
President, KKFI & Secretary General, IOA. The
participating countries were Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and host country
India. This tournament was well organized
under the leadership of Shri. M. S. Tyagi,
Competition Director (Kho Kho). All the Asian
countries appreciated and ensured of
introducing the sport in their respective
countries. 1st Asian Championship took place
at Calcutta, West Bengal in 1996 followed by
the 2nd Asian Championship in the year 2000
at Dhaka, Bangladesh. The 3rd Asian
Championship was held in the month of April
2016 at Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The
participating countries were Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Korea and host
country India. The test series was played
between India and England in January-
February, 2017 at different venues in India
namely Mumbai, Rajasthan and New Delhi.
In 1999, The Asian Kho Kho Federation was
established during the 3rd edition of the
South Asian Games. Member countries
included India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka,Nepal and Maldives.The 1st Asian
Championship was held at Kolkata in 1996
and the second championship at
Dhaka,Bangladesh. India,Sri
Lanka,Pakistan,Nepal,Japan,Thailand were
participants of this championship.
Rules
Each team consists of twelve players, but
only nine players take the field. A match
consists of two innings with each inning
consisting of chasing and running turns of 9
minutes each. One team sits on their knees in
the middle of the court, 8 in a row, with
adjacent members facing opposite directions.
The runners play in the field, three at a time
and the team that takes the shortest time to
touch all the opponents in the field, wins.
There is a pole on each end and the runner
can go between two sitting players, but the
chaser is not allowed to turn back while
running or go between the players i.e. the
chaser must run in the same direction unless
he chooses to touch either endpole and run in
the opposite direction. He may cross over to
the other side when he is reversing directions
by going around the pole.

Specifications
A Kho kho playing field is rectangular. It is 29
by 16 metres (95 ft × 52 ft) in length nio. In
the middle of these two rectangles, there are
two wooden poles. The central lane's
dimensions are 2,350 cm × 30 cm (925 in
× 12 in). There are eight cross lanes which lie
across the central lane, whose dimensions
are 1,600 cm × 30 cm (630 in × 12 in). It
makes the small rectangles and each of them
are 16 m × 2.3 m (52.5 ft × 7.5 ft) (the two
rectangles of near by the wooden poles are
2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) wide), at right angles to the
central lane and divided equally into two
parts of 7.85 m (25.8 ft) each by the central
lane. At the end of the central lane, the free
zone tangent to the post-line, two smooth
wooden posts are fixed, 120 cm (47 in) high
from the ground, and their circumference is
no less than 30 cm (12 in) and no more than
40 cm (16 in). The equipment used in Kho
kho are poles/post, strings, metallic
measuring tape, lime powder, wire nails, two
watches, types of rings having inner
circumference of 30 cm (12 in) and 40 cm
(16 in), score shots (like a whistle, for
instance), and equipment to record the
results. However, for unofficial games, only
lime powder (or any substitute) may be used
as long as the cross lanes, centre lane and
field boundaries are clearly distinguished.
The strings, as well as the rings, are for the
sole purpose of properly demarcating the
same.
Dismissal
There are usually two referees standing on
the opposite sides of the rectangular field.
Both carry a stopwatch and each of them is
responsible for giving a decision on their
opposite side of the field (because they can
watch the game play in front of them more
clearly than when it is on their same side).
Last time, the International Games series
taught us how to play the classic British kids’
game Leapfrog, and today we’ll be
rediscovering the classic Kho Kho. Playing Kho
Kho is a great way for your children to stay
active and build their confidence. Below you’ll
find out how to play Kho Kho and discover the
rich history behind the game. Kho Kho is all
about building physical strength and stamina,
so get ready for some ducking and diving. The
International Games blog series celebrates
those classic games played around the world
that have declined in popularity over the last 20
years. We’ll be rediscovering more games in
the weeks to come, so make sure to check back
often and keep playing!

What you need to start playing Kho Kho?

 As much open space as you can find
(traditionally 27 meters by 15 meters)
 Two poles or sticks, these are to go at either
end of the pitch and should be about
shoulder height on your child
 String or chalk (for marking out the
perimeters of the play area)
 Ideally, 12 children (but any number above
six is fine)
Kho Kho game rules:
 Mark out the play area with chalk or string.
Then draw a line down the middle, cutting
the field in half length-ways. Put a pole,
stick or sweater at each end of the central
dividing line.
 Split the Kho Kho players into two equal
teams, and then allocate one team as the
chasers and one team as the defenders (let
them know they’ll get to swap roles after
seven minutes).
 Chasers need to line up on the line down
the middle, facing in alternate directions.
They can only ‘chase’ on the side of the
pitch they are facing and can only chase one
at a time (see image one).
 The defenders enter the field in groups of
three and need to avoid being tagged by a
chaser - they can run anywhere on the field,
but they’re out if they get tagged.
 The chaser at the pole starts and must try
to tag one of the defenders on their side of
the pitch, if a defender crosses the line to
the other side, the chaser must tap the back
of one of his teammates, who is sitting
facing the other direction, and shout “Kho!”
(See image three).
 The teammate must then try to tag the
defender and the standing chaser sits in the
team mates place so only one chaser is
chasing.
 Chasers can swap with a teammate every
time the defender moves into the opposite
side of the pitch or the chaser can run
round one of the poles to get to the other
side of the pitch.
 The aim for chasers is to tag-out the
defenders the fastest. Whichever team gets
the defenders out the quickest wins.
What’s so great about playing Kho Kho?
This game is not only very physical, with lots of
running, diving and squatting; it’s also brilliant
for encouraging teamwork. Kids have to watch
carefully, work together, and learn how to
recognise when a teammate should take over
the pursuit. They also have to decide quickly
which is the right player to take over, so there’s
an element of strategy involved. Mastering how
to play Kho Kho is a real workout for body and
mind.

The History of Kho Kho

Why not add a bit of drama and mystery when
telling your kid about Kho Kho? The truth is,
nobody knows exactly where and how Kho Kho
was born, but it’s believed to have evolved in
the state of Maharashtra, where it was played
on chariots, called Rath. In its ancient form, the
game was known as Rathera. It gradually
became a much loved game for kids, keeping
them entertained for centuries, some game
rules were eventually formalised in the early
1900s, and in 1960 the first national Kho Kho
Championship took place in Andhra Pradesh
state. However, over the years, with modern
games and different sorts of childhood
activities taking over, it’s faded away. It’s time
we started hearing shouts of “Kho!” all around
the world.

Playing Kho Kho is well worth the messy

clothes
If there isn’t a lot of mud and sand on your kids’
clothes at the end of a Kho Kho game, they
need to throw themselves into it better next
time! If they’ve been playing on grass and their
clothes are stained, the marks will come out if
you rub the stain gently with Surf excel Liquid
and rinse with warm soapy water, then wash
the garment with your favourite Surf excel
detergent.

KhoKho Tournaments
Important Kho Kho Tournaments: Kho
Kho Tournaments as the game itself is very
inexpensive. It is one of the favorite game
among villagers. Urban students have started
to like the game because of its unique style
and fun part. To make popular State level
governments and national government have
started many tournaments. The state level
tournament is between different districts.
Indian Government soon realized and taken
steps to recognise the game on national level.
Central government promoted the game by
conducting different types of Kho Kho
tournament.
Different Kho Kho Tournaments are:
1. National Kho-Kho Championship.
2. Nehru Gold Cup.
3. Federation Cup.
Domestic Seasons and Tournaments are
1. National Championship.
2. Junior National.
3. Sub Junior National Championship.
4. School Championship.
 5. Mini School Championship.
6. Primary Mini School Championship.
7. National Women Championship.
8. All India Inter University Championship
and Federation Cup.

Kho Kho Skills

Basic Skills required is running and chasing.
Some of the basic kho kho skills are:
1. The judgment of direction: How fast
and attentive you are to know which
direction you have to run. Next is
2. Getting up from Square: Should be
very responsive to your teammates.
3. Running Skills: You should be fast ring
play, a single chain running, zigzag
running, straight running.
Kho Kho Awards
Kho Kho players receive different awards for
their dedication towards the game and their
outstanding performance throughout their
career. some of these awards are as follow:
1. Janaki award:
kho kho Awards for girl players under age of
18. Janaki award for their outstanding
performance in the game.
2. Veer Abhimanyu award:
Kho Kho boys Players under age of 18 are
Veer Abhimanyu award for their
extraordinary performance in this traditional
game.
3. Arjuna Award:

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and

Sports(Government of India) recognise
players and award them with Arjuna Award
for their outstanding achievement in kho kho
national sports. The award also includes Rs
500,000 with a scroll and a bronze statue of
Arjuna.
Through time the range of the award is
enlarged, and in the list now include a
significant number of sports individuals who
jumped to the pre-Arjuna Award age.
Furthermore, the number of disciplines for
which the award is given has been increased
to include indigenous matches and even the
physically handicapped category
4. Eklavya Award for men:
The government of Karnataka recognized
Ekalavya Award for Kho Kho game. The
Government of Karnataka awards the medal
to the man who performed with enthusiasm
and passion. Adarsha C P received Eklavya
award for his dedication towards game Kho
Kho in the year 2008.
5. Rani Laxmi Bai award for women:
The award includes prize money of 100,000
for exceptional performance by women in
kho kho game.
Rani Lakshmi Bai Award coined after Rani
Lakshmi Bai, the Queen of Jhansi who fought
bravely against British Raj.
6. Dronacharya Award:
The award is for those coaches who show
excellent performance in teaching the tactics
of the game to the players. Dronacharya Kho
Kho game award includes a cash prize of Rs
7, 00,000, a scroll of honor and a bronze
statue of Dronacharya. Gopal Purushottam
Phadke received the award in the year 2000
for his excellent service.

7. Shiv Chhatrapati Kho Kho Awards:

Shiv Chhatrapati award includes the trophy
and 25000 rs cash with a blazer and a
citation. The state government of
Maharashtra gives this award.