Kho-kho is a popular form of the Run-Chase sport from ancient India, often a major part of the games period in schools. The game involves chasing and touching runners while running in a linear path around two poles with techniques of forming a relay of chasers while passing on the chasing turn.
There are two types of kho-kho.
Kho-kho origin
Kho-kho is an ancient Indian game, possibly derived from the different strategies and tactics of the war in Kurukshetra as described in the Mahabharata. The chariot fight during the war and the zigzag pathways followed by the retreating soldiers show similarity with kho-kho.
On the 13th day of the war, the chief of the Kaurava army, Guru Dronacharya, drew a typical strategic circular formation—the chakravyuh. A deadly almost impenetrable war formation. The warrior Abhimanyu was killed in this Chakravyuh having to fight with 7 warriors alone, but he managed to to inflict heavy casualties over Kaurava. The tactics used by Abhimanyu to fight the defensive circle is similar to the game play of Kho-kho.
The play
The goal of the game is to chase and catch.
Kho is a voice signal sent to communicate to other players to indicate their turn to chase.
The ultimate objective of the game is strategically building a chain to catch the runner. The runners run zigzag, crossing between the sitting players, and change directions rapidly to make it tough to be tagged themselves.
Bharatiya Khel
Indian Knowledge Systems IKS division of (MoE), Government of India, AICTE
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