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Kho kho is a traditional South Asian sport that dates to Ancient india.Hard Bound Lab Manual Health and Physical Education, p. 41 It is one of the most popular traditional tag games in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connecting two poles which are at either end of the court. During the game, nine players from the chasing team (attacking team) are on the field, with eight of them sitting (crouched) in the central lane, while three runners from the defending team run around the court and try to avoid being touched or caught. Each sitting player on the chasing team faces the opposite half of the field that their adjacent teammates are facing.
In the game, one player from the chasing team (the "active chaser" or "attacker") may run around the court to tag (touch) members of the defending team. Each successful tag earns one point, and tagged defenders must leave the field. However, the active chaser is restricted from crossing the central lane to access the other half of the court and cannot change direction once they begin running toward either pole. These restrictions can be bypassed if the active chaser either switches roles with a sitting teammate — by touching them on the back while saying "Kho" — who is facing the other half of the court, or by running behind either pole to switch direction or halves. Each team alternates between scoring and defending, with two turns for each role. Each turn lasts nine minutes, and the team with the highest score at the end of the game wins.Nag, Utathya (24 June 2022). "Kho Kho, a kabaddi-like sport linked with Indian epic Mahabharata - know all about it". Olympics.com
The sport is widely played across South Asia, and also has a presence in other regions with a significant South Asian diaspora, such as South Africa and England. It is played most often by school children, and is also a competitive sport. The first franchise league for the sport, Ultimate Kho Kho, was unveiled in India in August 2022, and the inaugural World Cup was held in 2025.
It is now a medal sport in the South Asian Games, having first been played in the 2016 edition. The sport has also been spread overseas to the United Kingdom and South Africa by the South Asian diaspora. Within South Asia, it has been accepted into major sports events such as Khelo India and the National Games of India, with its growth supported by its simplicity and affordability. In the future, Indian officials have targeted adding kho kho to the Asian Games and 2036 Olympics. June 30 is celebrated annually as International Kho Kho Day.
Kho kho's rules and appearance have changed over time; it was generally played on muddy surfaces in the past, but today is often professionally played on matted surfaces. This transition has altered the game, as more energy is required to run on a matted surface, with injuries also increasing to some extent. Various other aspects of the game, such as the poles and the dimensions of the playing field, were also added over time.
Mrinal Das In the early 21st century, a shortened format of the game was invented, aiming to increase spectator appeal. In 2025, a kho kho ground was inaugurated in Australia with the innovative feature of removable poles, which allows other sports to take place on the field when desired.
Several major kho kho developments have taken place in India. In July 2022, the player draft for Ultimate Kho Kho was completed, which is a six-team franchise-based Indian kho kho tournament. Its inaugural season ran from August 14 to September 4, 2022. The Kho Kho Federation of India conducts the National Championships for men, women and juniors every year. India was also the host and winner of the inaugural 2025 Kho Kho World Cup.
The active chaser can switch roles with a sitting teammate by touching them on the back and shouting "kho"; this is known as the active chaser "giving a kho" to the sitting teammate. One kho must be given by the active chaser upon the dismissal of a batch before the chasing team can tag any players in the next batch. For the kho to be valid, it must be given before the active chaser has gone past the cross lane that the teammate is sitting within, with the sitting teammate not moving/rising before receiving the kho. Once a sitting chaser becomes active, they may only enter the half of the court which they were facing while they were sitting; additionally, once the newly active chaser steps to the left or right of the cross lane they were sitting in (or turns in such a way that their shoulders face towards either pole), they must continue in that direction until they have reached the free zone. Also, once the newly active chaser steps out of the central lane, they cannot step back into the central lane while tagging a defender.
Violating any of these rules results in a "foul", in which case the chasing team can no longer attempt to tag any defenders. In order to clear the foul, the active chaser must move in the opposite direction of the one they were running in (i.e. away from the defenders they were chasing) until they have either given a kho to a teammate, or reached the appropriate free zone.
The chasing team scores points each time a defender is ruled "out" (dismissed), which happens either when a chaser tags a defender without breaking any rules, when a defender steps out of the court (with no part of the body remaining grounded within), or when a defender is late to enter the court as part of a new batch after the dismissal of the previous batch.
In the case of a tie, some matches have a tiebreaker known as a "minimum chase", in which each team is allotted an additional turn to score. Each team's turn ends once they have scored one point, with the team that is faster at scoring a point during their minimum chase turn winning the match.
| +Participating Countries !Country !Association !National Teams !IKKF affiliation | |||
| Ghana | Ghana Kho Kho Federation | M & W | |
| Kenya | Kenya Kho Kho Federation | M & W | |
| Mali | Federation Malienne De Kho Kho | M & W | |
| South Africa | Kho Kho Association of South Africa | M & W | |
| Uganda | Uganda Khokho Federation | M & W | |
| Argentina | M & W | ||
| Brazil | Brazil Kho Kho Federation | M & W | |
| Canada | Kho Kho Canada | M & W | |
| Peru | Peruvian Kho kho Federation | M & W | |
| United States | USA Kho Kho Association | M & W | |
| Bangladesh | Bangladesh Kho Kho Federation | M & W | |
| Bhutan | Bhutan Kho Kho Club | M & W | |
| Indonesia | Indonesia Kho Kho Federation | M & W | |
| India | Kho Kho Federation of India | M & W | |
| Iran | Kho Kho Association of Iran | M & W | |
| Malaysia | Kho Kho Association of Malaysia | M & W | |
| Nepal | Nepal Kho Kho Association | M & W | |
| Pakistan | Pakistan Kho Kho Federation | M & W | |
| South Korea | Korea Kho Kho Federation | M & W | |
| Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka Kho Kho Federation | M & W | |
| England | Kho Kho Federation of England | M & W | |
| Germany | Kho Kho Federation of Germany | M & W | |
| Netherlands | Dutch Kho Kho Federation | M & W | |
| Poland | Kho Kho Poland | M & W | |
| Australia | Kho Kho Australia | M & W | |
| New Zealand | Kho Kho Federation of New Zealand | M & W |
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