Beginner’s Guide to India’s Traditional Sport – Kho Kho 

Kho Kho is a popular sport in South Asia that can be traced back to ancient India. It is a sport that, at the surface level, merely requires speed and athleticism. However, those with even a little bit of familiarity with Kho Kho would tell you that strategy is a core part of it as well. With the rise of niche sports in betting markets and the potential for Kho Kho to become an Olympic sport like Kabaddi, it is the perfect time to become familiar with the ins and outs of the game. But before that, here is a brief history of Kho Kho, which details how the sport slowly gained global popularity. 

History of Kho Kho

The inception of Kho Kho is believed to be in 4000 BCE, and some of its elements have been mentioned in the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. The initial version of the game, according to many sources, was called Rathera. 

In 1914, the current rendition of Kho Kho became the standard with a concrete set of rules. What made the game rise to global prominence was being officially demonstrated at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which also featured a demonstration of a handful of other traditional games from India.  

Over time, the formation of official bodies such as the Kho Kho Federation of India and Ultimate Kho Kho propelled the sport further. 

Rules & Gameplay 

Kho Kho is a dynamic sport and has many moving parts, which makes it the ideal spectator sport. 24 players are split between two equal teams, and nine players from both teams are active during a match. Here is a basic idea of what a Kho Kho match looks like:  

• It is a game of tag between two teams – the defenders and the chasers. 

• The chasing team sits in a row, with players alternately facing each other. 

• One player from the chasing team and three from the defending team remain active during a match. 

• Defenders can run in any direction, but the chasers are restricted to only moving clockwise. 

• A chaser can transfer the turn to another player of the team by saying ‘Kho’ while touching them, allowing them to chase the defender. 

• The goal of the game is to tag the defenders. 

However, this is a tactically intricate game, and to understand it better, we need to look at its layout, rules, and gameplay.  

Kho Kho Court Dimensions

Kho Kho is played across a standard court with fixed dimensions. Here is what it looks like.  

• A 27×16 meters court is divided by a central lane.  

• The central lane is further sectioned by eight wooden poles at equal distances. 

• The chasers sit on either side of the central lane 

• The defenders run within the remaining part of the court. 

• The markings along the edges indicate the boundaries. 

• The chasers can pass the turn to another teammate in the ‘Kho’ area. 

Rules

The rules of the game are straightforward, which makes it ideal for those who prefer simpler sports. Here are the standard rules that govern a game of Kho Kho:  

• Only one chaser remains active at once and can transfer the turn to their teammates by tapping their back and saying, “Kho.”  

• The chaser can only run in one single direction and must touch the furthest pole in their respective direction to switch or take a roundabout. 

• Chasers can only pass the turn to the players sitting with their backs to them since they are seated alternately in both directions across the central line.  

• There can be only three defenders on the court at any time, and they are free to run in any direction to avoid the tag.  

• The number of tags each team scores dictates the winner at the end. 

• There are two innings in the match, each lasting for seven minutes, with a two-minute break in between.  

• In the event of a tie, an additional inning called “minimum chase” is conducted to determine the winner. The team that scores a tag faster is then determined the winner of the match. 

Gameplay and Strategies 

In Kho Kho, both the chasers and the runners can approach the game strategically. Since it is a tag game, speed and athleticism are extremely crucial to maintaining the match’s energy. However, while agility is of utmost importance, intelligence and wit can transform the match altogether to unravel the game’s technical beauty. Here are some often employed strategies for it: 

• The chasing players use surprise passes to overcome their limitations of direction. 

• Sending the best players on both teams first ensures the best use of the game’s limited runtime. 

• Chasing teams can practice strategic patterns of successive tags to cover more ground. 

• Feigning a pass plays an important role in Kho Kho, which misdirects and confuses the defending team. Here, effective communication between the chasing team is crucial since it increases the likelihood of securing a tag. 

Variations of Kho Kho 

With time, Kho Kho has seen variations due to adaptations by different bodies. We have listed a few of them for you to understand: 

Ultimate Kho Kho

Usually, a UKK match has seven players in each team and is typically 15 minutes long. The chasing team is free to cover any direction, and each team can use a single “powerplay” with two chasers on the court instead of one. In case of a tie, the Minimum Chase tiebreaker is applied by default.  

Circle Kho Kho

One of the most interesting variants of the sport is Circle Kho Kho. This game features two circles – one five-meter inner circle that is surrounded by another seven-meter circle. A team of eight players are positioned around the inner circle facing outwards or inwards alternately, and upon a pass, they can run in their respective direction.  

Standing Kho Kho

Another variant that is played on a circular court is Standing Kho Kho. It is a game of cat and mouse where two chasing players interlock their elbows and chase defenders. If a defender is caught by one of the two chasers, the other must detach and become a defender, while the player who is caught becomes a replacement chaser.  

Can I bet on Kho Kho?

Since Kho Kho has just received a highlight on the global stage with the Kho Kho World Cup 2025, sports betting opportunities are still limited. Sports bettors can now look forward to more coverage of Kho Kho, with Indian Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya pushing for its inclusion on the Olympic front. 

In India, platforms such as Parimatch, 1xBet, and JungliWIN offer betting options for Ultimate Kho Kho tournaments. You can explore plenty of reliable online betting sites for Kho Kho and other niche sports here. 

Meanwhile, there is an opportunity to become familiar with Kho Kho events that can eventually be bet on. These include official events from the International Kho Kho Federation, Ultimate Kho Kho, and more. We will discuss these Kho Kho betting events extensively in a follow-up post at a later time. 

• National Kho Kho Championship 

• Nehru Gold Cup 

• Federation Cup 

• Ultimate Kho Kho Championship 

The Bottom Line

Once a purely street-level sport, Kho Kho now aims for the Olympic level. It is a game of athleticism and strategy, and its intensity is perfect for sports betting enthusiasts who love to make calculated bets. As the game finds more prominence on the global front with successive iterations at the Kho Kho World Cup and South Asian Games, it is clear that Kho Kho will soon make waves among online sports bettors.