#KnowBharatiyaGames: Kho Kho and Mahabharata

A sport that is similar to that of "tag" or "run chase", the origin of Kho Kho can be found in India which has its existence in some form or the other for thousands of years. It is believed that certain aspects of the game have been mentioned in the ancient Indian epic of Mahabharata, in the iconic Chakravyuha incident to be precise.

Basically, the game "Kho Kho" is a traditional Indian sport that is played outdoor or indoor by two teams of players. The objective of the game is for one team to chase and touch the back of members of the other team, while the other team tries to avoid being caught.

 

 

For the unknown, Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic that chronicles the conflict between the Pandavas and Kauravas. It revolves around an 18-day-long war. Now, the game of Kho Kho is as epic and old as the great Mahabharata.

 

 

On the 13th day of the war, Guru Dronacharya, a teacher to both the Pandavas and Kauravas who was fighting the war for the latter, planned the Chakravyuha, a deadly almost impenetrable war formation.

 

 

This deadly Chakravyuha, which was not breached by any original five Pandavas, was broken by Abhimanyu, the young son of Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers through a special military defense plan.

 

Though he sacrificed his life after being outnumbered in combat at the center of the Chakravyuha, his style of fighting in breaching the Chakravyuha was very similar to the concept of ring play, which is a defensive tactic applied in the game of Kho Kho.

 

In the early days, it was planned on chariots called "Rath". So, at that time, this game was known as "Rathera".

 

 

The existence of Kho Kho started in 1914 at the time of the first World War. What we see now, the current version, is an adatation of the game that existed then. Notably, at that time, there were no ground dimension or poles. However, it was the Pune Deccan Gymkhana who needs to be appreciated for making some new set of rules to promote Kho Kho. The Deccan Gymkhana gave the game structure, rules and regulations. This made kho kho more acceptable to the masses and eventually, the sport developed

 

 

It is pertinent to mention that Kho Kho was one of the indigenous Indian sports demonstrated on the sidelines of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The first ever All India Kho Kho Championship was held at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh in 1959-60 while the national championship for women was played in Kolhapur, Maharashtra in 1960-61.

Kho Kho was also demonstrated during the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi as well as during the South Asian Games in Kolkata in 1987. It was at this time, the Asian Kho-Kho Federation was formed which helped propel the game of Kho-Kho in countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and others.

The first-ever Asian Championship was held in Kolkata in 1996. It was also a medal sport at the South Asian Games 2016 in Guwahati. Currently, almost 25 countries have their national Kho Kho teams.

 

 

In order to promote the sport similarly to Pro Kabaddi league, the Ultimate Kho-Kho, the first league of its kind was unveiled in India in August 2022. It has been launched with the objective to market and package India's indigenous sport of Kho Kho into a professional structure. The initiative aims to bring India's very own home-grown sport to the forefront and make it the most sought-after sports league in India.

Six teams are a part of its first-ever edition. The six teams are named Chennai Quick Guns, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Khiladis, Odisha Juggernauts, Rajasthan Warriors, and Telugu Yoddhas.