Ultimate Kho Kho

Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK)[1] is an Indian franchise-based kho-kho league started in 2022. It is hosted in collaboration by Dabur with the Kho Kho Federation of India.[2] The inaugural season had a viewership of 64 million, 41 million of which came from India,[2] making UKK the third-most viewed non-cricket competition in India after the Pro Kabaddi League and the Indian Super League.[2]

Ultimate Kho Kho
Most recent season or competition:
2023-24
SportKho Kho
Founded2022
First season2022
CEOTenzing Niyogi
No. of teams6
CountryIndia
Most recent
champion(s)
Gujarat Giants (1st title)
(2023-24)
Most titlesOdisha Juggernauts (1 title)
Official websitehttps://www.ultimatekhokho.com/
Current sports event 2023-24 Ultimate Kho Kho

History

Several changes were made to the standard rules of kho-kho in UKK in order to make the game more exciting and presentable on television.[3] Sony Pictures Network India signed a 5-year deal to broadcast UKK, and will invest 200 crore (US$24 million) into the league over the 5 years.[4]

There are plans to launch a women's version of UKK in a few years' time.[5][6] Future editions of UKK will expand to have eight to ten teams (potentially including a team from Northeast India),[7][8] with venues in multiple cities to be used, and some foreign players to be allowed to participate.[9]

Before the start of the second season, UKK became the first Indian sports league to secure private equity-based funding, receiving it from a UK-based group.[10]

Rules

UKK rules follow the standard rules of Kho Kho with the following exceptions:[11][12][13]

  • Only 7 players from the attacking (chasing) team are on the field.[14][15][16]
  • The playing field is only 22 meters long and 16 meters wide.[14][15][16]
  • 2 points are scored per tag.[17]
  • A 30-second break is taken between the dismissal of one batch and the entry of the next batch.[18][a]
  • If a batch of defenders can avoid being completely dismissed for at least 3 minutes (known as a "Dream Run"), they earn 1 point, and then an extra point for every 30 seconds survived afterwards.[19][20]
  • One attacking player (known as the wazir) may run in any direction when acting as the active attacker.[11][12][13]
  • The attacking team can take a powerplay in each of their attacking turns during which they have two wazirs. Each powerplay lasts until all 3 defenders of the current batch are out.[14][15][16]
  • Each team's turn to score/defend lasts 7 minutes, with the break time between turns also shortened.[11][12][13]
  • Tiebreaker (named "Minimum Chase"): Each team gets one additional turn to score (with the powerplay being active), and the team that scores its first point the fastest wins.[18]

Terminology

The game is split into two innings, each of which is split into two turns of seven minutes each. An interval of 3 minutes is taken after the end of the first inning, while a break of 2 minutes is taken after the end of the first and third turns respectively.[18]

Teams

Mumbai Khiladis
Rajasthan Warriors
Telugu Yoddhas
Gujarat Giants
Odisha Juggernauts
Chennai Quick Guns
Locations of the UKK teams

The six teams are named Chennai Quick Guns, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Khiladis, Odisha Juggernauts, Rajasthan Warriors, and Telugu Yoddhas.[21]

Tournament seasons and results

Titles won by each team

TeamTitle(s)Runner-upPlayoffsSeasons wonSeasons runner-upSeasons in playoffsNo. of seasons played
Odisha Juggernauts1-22022-2022, 2023-242
Telugu Yoddhas-1-2022
Chennai Quick Guns2023-24
Gujarat Giants1-2023-24-
Mumbai Khiladis----
Rajasthan Warriors

UKK season results

SeasonFinalNo. of teamsPlayer of the season
WinnerScorelineRunner-upVenue
2022Odisha Juggernauts46-45Telugu YoddhasShree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune6Ramji Kashyap (CQG)[22]
2023-24Gujarat Giants31-26Chennai Quick GunsJawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, CuttackRamji Kashyap (CQG)[23]

Teams' performances

TeamSeason
20222023-24
Odisha Juggernauts1st3rd
Telugu Yoddhas2nd4th
Chennai Quick Guns3rd2nd
Gujarat Giants4th1st
Mumbai Khiladis5th5th
Rajasthan Warriors6th6th

League stage positions

TeamSeason
20222023-24
Gujarat Giants1st3rd
Odisha Juggernauts2nd2nd
Telugu Yoddhas3rd4th
Chennai Quick Guns4th1st
Mumbai Khiladis5th5th
Rajasthan Warriors6th6th

Awards

SeasonPlayer of the TournamentRising Star of the Tournament[b]Attacker of the TournamentDefender of the Tournament
2022[22]Ramji Kashyap (Chennai Quick Guns)Madan (Chennai Quick Guns)Abhinandan Patil (Gujarat Giants)Deepak Madhav (Telugu Yoddhas)
2023-24[23]Shubham Thorat (Gujarat Giants)Pratik Waikar (Telugu Yoddhas)Aditya Ganpule (Telugu Yoddhas)

See also

References