Kho Kho World Cup 2025 rules, regulations, scoring, points system, fouls, players, origin country, history, name meaning and mat size

The inaugural edition of the highly anticipated Kho Kho World Cup 2025 began yesterday, on January 13, Monday, check out all the details below about the game’s rules and regulations

The inaugural edition of the tournament, backed by the Indian Olympic Association has a total of 39 teams.

Kho Kho World Cup 2025 rules, regulations, scoring, points system, fouls, players, origin country, history, name meaning and mat size dimensions

The hosts, the favourites, the winners of the first-ever #KhoKhoWorldCup clash! 🔥

Congratulations, #TeamIndia 🇮🇳#TheWorlGoesKho #Khommunity #KhoKho #KKWC2025 pic.twitter.com/um85Gxt5g5

— Kho Kho World Cup India 2025 (@Kkwcindia) January 13, 2025

The upcoming competition features a total of 20 men’s teams and 19 women’s team all competing for the title.

Kho Kho World Cup 2025 dates

The upcoming tournament will take place over just one week, with four groups of five teams each. Each team will play against other teams in the group once, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the quarterfinals. The knockout rounds will take place from January 17–19. Following which the final match will take place on January 19, Sunday, at 7 PM IST.

Kho Kho World Cup 2025 Men’s and Women’s teams

Given below is a list of the Kho Kho World Cup 2025 teams:

Men’s teams

Women’s Teams

Kho Kho origins

According to reports, Kho Kho originated in Maharashtra, India, and it was originally played on chariot. It was originally called ratha in Hindi and later went by the name Rathera. The game eventually came to be called Kho Dhwani Krida, which literally translates to “a game where the sound ‘kho’ is made.”

Kho Kho is an indigenous Indian sport that evolved from being played on muddy surfaces to being played on mats. The first national Kho Kho championship took place in 1959 in Vijayawada, organised by the Kho-kho Federation of India (KKFI). The sport was first demonstrated at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and then during the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi. By 1996, the first-ever Asian Championship took place in Kolkata, and by 2016, it featured as a medal sport at the South Asian Games in Guwahati.

Kho Kho features a total of nine players in each team, alongside three other permitted substitutes. Each kho kho mat should measure 1 meter by 1 meter, making them easy to install, remove and maintain and mats should have a density of 130-140 kg.

Kho Kho World Cup rules and regulations

Pune’s Deccan Gymkhana wrote the first rules and regulations for Kho Kho in 1914, giving the sport a structured look. Bal Gangadhar Tilak then went on to write the first rule book of Kho Kho. Given below is a list of the sport’s rules and regulations:

• All Kho Kho matches start with a coin toss where the winning captain points towards the central line for a chase or the sidelines for a defence.
• The match starts off with eight players of the chasing team taking a sitting position in the eight small rectangles.
• Consecutive chasers take their positions facing opposite side lines with the ninth chaser, starting the match from one of the free zones.
• Meanwhile, the defending team sends in a group of three defenders for the start of the match.
• The match starts off with the active chaser trying to tag (or touch) one of the three defenders.
• A chaser can only run in the direction in which they take their first step and cannot cross over the central lane.
• If the chaser wants to change direction or cross over to the other side of the central line, they will need to first enter the free zone and then touch the pole.
• The active chaser can also tag one of their fellow inactive chasers while uttering the word ‘Kho’ to switch places. The chaser then becomes inactive and has to sit down in the now active chaser’s position.
• Players generally use the Khos when a defender crosses over to the other end of the central lane. A player cannot extend his arm or feet for a Kho.
• The chasing team wins a point once he/she touches a defender, while the tagged defender leaves the field. The defending team will send in the three defenders once all three defenders are out.
• An attacker who tags the last remaining defender from one batch cannot continue the chase.
• The chasing team captain can end the first inning before regulation time if they score a minimum of nine points. However, in the second inning, a captain can end the turn at any time.
• The team that chases first also has the option to enforce a ‘follow-on’ on their opposition when they gain a lead of over six or eight points in the first inning.
• During a follow-on, the trailing team chases first in the second inning.
• Just like football, Kho Kho features yellow and red cards given out for violations like disorderly behavior and overly aggressive tackles.
• The yellow card signifies the first caution, and players who receive two yellow cards will miss out on the rest of the match and the next match.
• Two yellow cards from different matches of the same tournament also mean that the player will miss the next match.
• Meanwhile, players that receive a direct red card will leave the field and miss the next match of the tournament.

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