Ultimate Kho Kho League: As the exhilarating kickoff to Season 2 of the Ultimate Kho Kho League approaches on Sunday, Tenzing Niyogi, the CEO and league commissioner, unveils the extraordinary journey of transforming an indigenous gem like Kho Kho into a global sport.With the thrill of last year’s blockbuster season still echoing, Niyogi also shares the key changes shaping this new chapter in the league. India’s first-ever professional Kho-Kho league revamped the indigenous game of Run & Chase popularly called Kho Kho in a completely new avatar.
Aiming for a global presence in the coming time Ultimate Kho Kho’s inaugural edition claimed the title of India’s third-largest non-cricketing league in audience outreach.
Discussing the success of the professional league and its impact on elevating India’s traditional sport, Niyogi highlighted: “The Ultimate Kho Kho is a byproduct of an indigenous sport, which is Kho Kho. The fundamentals behind building Ultimate Kho Kho was that the bottom of the pyramid from a clear talent perspective was very heavy.
“It’s always been filled with players and this is inclusive of both genders men women (boys, girls). They’ve all played Kho Kho. What was important for us was to build a product, which could be sustained at the Apex of the pyramid, which is called Ultimate Kho Kho, the professional league.”
He added: “It gives a structure which is run by governance driven by transparency, and gives a platform to every Kho KHo player across India to come out there and express themselves and become a bigger player. A bigger star and represent different franchises.
“So, throughout the year, these players play for the respective states or their respective offices, which is multiple PSUs, who hire them and they are employees there. But there should be one platform where they can come and earn lots of money, fame, recognition and more importantly, inspire the younger generation to pick up Kho Kho and then play.”
Speaking to IANS, Niyogi also hinted at starting a women’s league as well: “I believe Kho Kho was one of the top sports to be converted into a sports league and bring it to a platform where now we can also start talking about building a women’s League and that will be, I think, the crowning Jewel for all of us.”
In Season 2, a revamped points system promises an exhilarating twist, aimed at amplifying viewer engagement and making the sport even more enthralling.
“The reason why we did the unification of the rules was largely from a fan engagement standpoint. Season 1 had two different point structures and we thought that it might get a little bit difficult for the viewers online and on-air to understand the point system. So, what we did was we unified it with just one point,” Niyogi said.
As per the new point system with every tag, pole dive, sky dive attempted there will be 2-point each. And so that simplifies the rule for the audiences and they know that there is no there is no extra effort which is being put there.
Niyogi then added: “There is something called “Dream Run” where the defenders run more than two and a half minutes in the field of play. Last year, to run two and a half minutes they used to get bonus points. This year, what we have done is if the defender stays on the court, in the field of play for up to 3 minutes, he will get one point extra and then every 30 seconds, will get 1 Point extra.
“So it’s a very simple rule, for every skydive, pole dive and any tag there are two points each and for a dream run, after three minutes, you get one point each.”
In its debut season, the league captivated 164 million viewers across diverse media platforms, boasting 148 million social media reach, 225 million video views, and 60 million interactions—a staggering engagement success.
With all such positive responses, Niyogi said there will be two new teams in season three with lots of corporate entities across the Silicon Valley, Family Funds or Sports funds, and their Consortiums, coming out of Dubai and Southeast Asia, all showing interest and want teams.
“We will be evaluating and eventually will be adding in new teams in season three, two more new teams as of now. And that number might change. But, it depends as to what process the board and the management decide, whether we do an e-bid or a closed bid.
“All I can say there’s a lot of demand and so it’s the ball in our court today and we have to go back to the drawing board after season 2 finishes and then decide as to how we can take that forward,” said the league commissioner.
He confidently asserted that from the very inception of the Ultimate Kho Kho, he harboured not a single shred of doubt regarding its inevitable success.
“When I conceptualised this (Kho Kho League) way back in 2018, I was very sure that this would be a big hit because of a couple of reasons. Firstly, this is a team sport which is being played across India, so you don’t need to teach Kho Kho. Both genders played it across tier 4 to 1.
“The whole of Bharat has been ingrained with Kho Kho rules from the very beginning from their childhood. Kho Kho rules are deeply rooted since childhood, from 8-year-old boy to 80-year-old women, it’s a familiar game, needing no introduction.
“Sports with fast-paced action and captivating on-air spectacle during television broadcasts inherently hold a greater chance of success. They generate enduring interest, enticing viewers to linger and indulge for those extra thrilling moments,” he concluded.