The first-ever Kho Kho World Cup 2025 is about to kick off, and it’s not just a dream, it’s a reality. Delhi is buzzing with excitement, as banners and posters celebrating Kho Kho, a sport rooted in India’s cultural rural heritage, fill the city. This action will take place at the Indira Gandhi Stadium from January 13 to 19, 2025, which will make this traditional game take a great leap forward. (More Sports News)
The World Cup in Kho Kho is taking a huge stride towards glo⛦balization with 39 teams from all over the world participating in it.🌃 It features men's and women's categories that will promise action-packed competition all through the week.
The opening ceremony on January 13 will kick off with a match between India a🌜nd Nepal, highlighting equality with tourna﷽ments for both genders.
But we know whatꦯ you're wondering, what are the rules? Is it more💜 difficult or complex than the Kho Kho we played with our friends back in school? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Here’s your ultimate guide to the Kho Kho World Cup 2025, with everything you need to know about the rules, regulations, and format.
Kho Kho World Cup 2025: Format
The Kho Kho World Cup will 🌸follow round-robin play, culminating in knockout stages. The two top teams of each group, along with the♏ two best-performing third-placed teams, will qualify for the quarterfinals. From there, the tournament moves to the semifinals and finals.
Each K🎉ho Kho team will consist of nine players on the field, with a total of 12 players in the squad. The remaining three players can be used as substitutes during the match.
Men's Tournament: Groups And Teams
Men’s Kho Kho Teams
Group A: India, Nepal, Peru, Brazil, Bhutan
Group B:🌳 South Africa, Ghana, Argentin𝔍a, Netherlands, Iran
Group C: Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Republic of Korea, United States of Ameri💜ca, Poland
Group D: England, Germany, Malaysia, Australia, Kenya
Women's Tournament: Groups And Teams
Women’s Kho Kho Teams
Group A: India, Iran, Malaysia, Republic of Korea
Group B: England, Australia, Kenya, Uganda, Netherlands
Group C: Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Germany, Bangladesh
Group D: South Africa, New Zealand, Poland, Peru, Inꩵdonesia
How Is Kho Kho Played? Rules And Regulations - Explained
Field: The game is played on a rectangular field di⭕vided into two halves with a central 🍎lane in the middle.
Match: A Kho Kho match consists of two innings, including four turns; t🌃wo for chasing and two for defending. Each turn lasts 7 minutes, with a 2-minute break between turns and a 3-minute inter♛val between the innings.
Chasing: Those on the chasers' side take turns running forward to tag down the defenders; the rest stay in🎀 a queue. They alternate directions depending on▨ the instruction during play.
Defending: The defending te🅷am tri🔯es to avoid being tagged until the time runs out.
Start Of The Play - Rules
A Kho Kho match begins with a coin toss. The winning captain raises their hand and points their finger either towards the central line (for chasing) or the sidelines (🅠for defending).
The chasing team then takes the field. Eight players sit in the small r🐼ectangles formed by the intersection of the central and cross lanes. Consecutive chasers must face opposite sidelines. The ninth player, called the attacker or active chaser, star🅺ts from one of the free zones.
The defending team sends in ༺three defen𝄹ders at the start.
The match begins with th🔯e active chaser trying to🌺 tag one of the three defenders.
Movement Rules:
Chasers can only run in the direction they first step in, known as "taking direction." The active chaser cannot cross the central lane while chasing. To change direction or move to the other side of the central line, the chaser must enter the free zone, touch the ꦓpole, and change direction.
Tagging And 'Kho':
Chasers🧸 can tag a teammate by saying "Kho" to pass on the chase. Once tagged, the chaser becomes inactive and sits in the position of the new active chaser.
Tags o𝔉r Khos should be made on the back, between the shoulder and waist𓆉. If a teammate extends their arm or feet for a Kho, it’s illegal.
When a ch▨aser tags a defender, the ch♏asing team earns a point, and the tagged defender leaves the field. Once all three defenders are tagged, the next batch of three defenders enters the game.
The sequence of three defenders rꦺemains the same for each batch.
The active chaser who tags the last defender of a batch must tag a t🥃eammate to continue the chase with the next batch.
Teams usually send in their best defenders first to use up as🎶 much time as possible. Once the first innings ends, the teams switch roles: the chasing team becomes the defending team.
The game repeats fo𝐆r another inning, and the team with the most points wi꧑ns.
Ending The Innings Early:
When the defending team scores above 9, its captain has an option♈ to stop first innin🧸gs like declaration in cricket. Second innings can also be called to close earlier by its skipper at any moment.
Follow-On:
If a team has a lead of 6 or 8 points in the first innings, they can enforce a "follow-on" on the opposing team. The team trailing must chase first in the second innings, and the team enforcing the follow-on can take their ch🌳asing tur🧸n last if the deficit is erased.
Yellow And Red Cards:
Kho Kho uses yellow and red cards for violations like aggressive tackles or bad behavior. A yellow card is a caution, and two yellow cards in a ma🌟tch will cause the player to sit out the rest of the match and the next one. Two yellow cards in different matches will cause a player to miss the next match. A direct red card results in suspension from the ongoing match and the next match.
