The second season of the Ultimate Kho Kho came to an end with the Gujarat Giants being crowned champion as it edged 31-26 past the Chennai Quick Guns at the Jawaharlal Nehru indoor stadium in Cuttack on Saturday.
The Quick Guns’ decision to defend after winning the toss paid little dividends as it managed to post just 14-1 at the end of the first turn, as the Giants’ ploy to take out star performer Ramji Kashyap worked big time.
Sanket Kadam was the hero that the Giants needed, as he came up with an all-round performance. In the second turn of the Quick Guns’ attack, Kadam managed to take out three out of ten defenders and went on to produce a double-dream run in the final turn to ensure his side crossed the finish line without much pressure.
Subtle changes make a world of difference
Unlike the inaugural season, this edition of the tournament saw an array of closely fought matches. Out of the 36 total matches that were played, only 11 saw teams winning by a margin of 10 or more points, most of which came in the second half of the tournament, when players would’ve felt fatigued due to a packed calendar.
Subtle tweaks in the rules of the tournament have been the differentiating factor.
The tournament organisers have found the sweet spot and have tinkered with aspects that needed absolute attention to make the game more audience-friendly.
In the first season, attack points were awarded based on the type of moves that a player made. Two points were awarded for touches and three for pole dives (a technique where the attacker uses a wooden pole for support to dive and touch the defender) and skydives (when the attacker’s body is fully stretched in the air before touching the defender).
The second iteration of the tournament saw uniformity across different styles of attacks, making it two points across all types of attacks.
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Changes were made about defending as well. Earlier, dream runs were awarded when a defender stayed not out after two and a half minutes. This was modified to three minutes to restore parity between both aspects of the game.
Tournament COO Vishal Sharma and CEO Tenzing Niyogi. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
“If you look at football, you get one goal for netting the ball past the goalkeeper, and the manner in which you score doesn’t matter. Bicycle kick? One goal. Penalty? One goal. So we tried something similar and decided to bring uniformity to the scoring system. Last year it was slightly up and down, and we did not want to keep it subjective and wanted to make the sport objective and simple for the viewers to understand,” says Tenzing Niyogi, the tournament’s CEO.
These modifications were well received by the audience, and the social media traction that UKK garnered this season attests to this very fact.
The official UKK handles across social media handles have received more than 213 million views and have gained close to 150,000 followers, totaling a 150% increase in the popularity of the tournament.
While the intensity of games is a primary reason for the growth in popularity, Tenzing believes the changes made to make the tournament simpler for the audience played a major role in fetching massive numbers.
Young guns
Changes weren’t just restricted to rules and regulations; the season also saw a lot of young blood infused within teams.
In the draft that was held before the second season, 33 out of the 145 players who were picked by six franchises were all between the ages of 16 and 18. Mumbai Khiladis had the highest number of youngsters, with nine players out of a squad strength of 26.
To achieve this, UKK worked in tandem with the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) to form an extensive database of the player pool available throughout the country.
The players who apply for the draft, which happens every year, are then filtered based on their recent performances in various domestic tournaments.
“The federation has information about all the players around the country. So, the six franchises sought their help in deciding on draft purchases. Eventually, the quality of the tournament will depend on the type of player pool we have. So we shortlisted close to 200 players who were recommended by KKFI and the franchisees,” says UKK’s COO, Vishal Sharma.
“To provide an opportunity for budding players, we asked the federation’s permission to allow players aged between 16 and 18 to participate in the draft. One of the reasons for this is that the coaches of most of the teams attend multiple domestic tournaments and were really impressed by some youngsters who showed promise. So we (the management) thought why not give them a chance and decided to include the younger lot in the second season’s draft,” he added.
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Chennai’s coach, Manohara C. A., welcomed the move to include youngsters in the system. “Of course, a sport needs players from different age groups. It is up to the coaches to find the right combination. These youngsters might lack the necessary experience but have raw talent, which, when trained properly, could help any team prosper. Before the start of the second season, we conducted camps for these players and provided them with situational training that helped them make spontaneous decisions during matches,” he says.
Cause for concern
One hindrance that the fans—especially those who savour the stadium atmosphere—would’ve felt was the tournament being confined to a single city. Last season was in Pune, and the recently concluded season was held in Cuttack.
While a home-and-away format could be logistically demanding, Tenzing says talks are going to make the tournament a multi-city caravan format.
“There are plans for that (venue expansion). We were looking at the caravan style, but what also needs to be kept in mind is the fact that it’s a business end of the day, and we want our franchisees to come and not spend too much. So, what is important is that there is an equilibrium maintained in expenses and revenue. So we are going to get into a hybrid model where instead of maybe one venue, we might look at three venues, and that will be decided,” explains Tenzing.
Unchanged
Apart from cameras in all possible directions, there’s a customised spider cam hovering above the players to catch a bird’s-eye view of the proceedings. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
However, there were aspects of the tournament that went untouched from the maiden season, of which the number of cameras used is one.
Eighteen cameras, placed strategically around the court, are used for broadcast to ensure none of the action—keeping in mind the fast-paced nature of kho kho—is left uncovered. Apart from cameras in all possible directions, there’s a customised spider cam hovering above the players to catch a bird’s-eye view of the proceedings.
With discussions going around on the inclusion of kho kho in the Asian Games and eventually the Olympics, it is just a matter of time before this once-rural sport finds a place on the international stage.
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