BHUBANESWAR: After the success of kho kho World Cup 2025 in Delhi, the indigenous sport's, which is played in every nook and corner of the country, popularity has grown massively and the Kho Kho Federation of India has played its part in it. On the sidelines of the ongoing senior national championship in Bhubaneswar, KKFI president Sudhansu Mittal spoke with this daily on introducing mat, role of Ultimate Kho Kho, road to olympics and more. Excerpts...
On hurdles faced to introduce mat
After years of scientific research, discussion with former players and the administrator the federation came to a conclusion that to popularise one of the indigenous sports in our country we should adopt the changes “Mitti to Mat”. Not only that, we had to reduce the size of the ground and the number of players (nine to seven) and the playing time (nine minutes to seven minutes).
On role of Ultimate kho kho
With a lot of ground work and technical research we introduced the Ultimate kho kho league in the year 2022. The introduction of new format in the league turned to be a true game changer for the reposing of kho kho sports in the Globe. In the inaugural season, six franchises participated. We have plans to introduce four more teams in future. This year onwards overseas players will get the opportunities to play in the kho kho league. Each franchise will add four to five overseas players in their team.
On kho kho's road to Olympics
In the year 1936 the kho kho was played in the Olympic Games as a demonstration sport. At present, 55 countries are enrolled under the International Kho Kho Federation (IKKF). We are aiming to reach another five-ten countries by the end of this year. IKKF officials are in regular touch with the International Olympic Committee. I am hopeful kho kho will get a place in the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. We made a plan to move step by step, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and then Olympic Games. This year KKFI will host the Commonwealth kho kho Championship. We are expecting to get an entry into the Commonwealth Games 2030.
On kho kho in Odisha
In my opinion, Odisha state as well as players development scheme is an example for others. Odisha is the first state in our country that understands the requirements of a sports federation and they came forward by sponsoring KKFI `5 crore a year for the coming three years. It's an incredible support for the federation. Earlier, kho kho was dominated by Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, but presently Odisha players emerged runner-up in both men and women. The state created a kho kho high performance centre with an international infrastructure that helped a lot for the development of Odisha teams.
On the national kho kho championship
This is the first time Odisha is hosting senior national championship. Total 80 teams, including 40 women’s teams, participate in the five-day long championship. It speaks volume about the popularity of kho kho in our country. In this national championship we have introduced a few new policies. In place of nine players, this time seven players were played and In place of nine minutes, it will seven minutes played.
On importance of coach education
Coach education is the most vital component to develop any sports. The KKFI conducts Level-3 coaching courses in regular intervals. The kho kho reached different countries due to our coaching course. During the pandemic, it was a blessing in disguise, more than 50 coaches, who were attending the coaching course, stocked at Delhi for more than nine months. They started living with kho kho sports and became a coaching export. When they reached their respective countries they took the sports seriously and we marked the growth of kho kho in different nations.