The Kho-Kho Federation of India in collaboration with Bhutan Olympic Committee (BOC) launched the game, Kho-Kho in Bhutan for the first time in the capital today. Kho-Kho is an ancient popular tag sport originated in India.
Kho-Kho match consists of two innings. Each team gets nine minutes for chasing and nine for defending. Eight members of the chasing team sit on their knees in eight squares in the central lane of the field facing opposite directions. The ninth member is the active chaser who begins his pursuit at either of the posts. The active chaser knocks out an opponent by touching his opponent with the palm. The runners try to play out the nine minutes, avoiding being touched by the chaser while not moving out of the boundaries. The active chaser can get any attacking team member, sitting crouched in one of the squares in the centre of the field, to take over and continue the chase by tapping him on the back with the palm saying “Kho!” loudly.
The game was officially launched in the capital today by the Kho-Kho Federation of India in collaboration with BOC, organizing a friendly match between Druk School and Pelkhil Higher Secondary School.
The main aim of taking initiative for the launching of this sport in Bhutan is to spread the idea of the game and allow Bhutanese to practice and participate in the Asian Games.
“This game originated in India. It is our national game. We came to promote the game in Bhutan because we want to help Bhutan win gold medals in Asian games. Many of the countries started playing this game and in Bhutan, it has just started. I have been giving coaching to two schools in order to make Bhutan win gold medals. For this I would like to request the Bhutan Kho-Kho association to practice well and excel in this game,” said Anup Chakrabuti, the Coach for Kho-Kho Federation of India.
General Secretary of Kho-Kho in Bhutan said that it is a great opportunity for the Bhutanese as the sport can help improve agility and keep youths engaged.
“This game is played in most of the country in Asia, but Bhutan, we just introduced this game because we want to participate in SAFF game as requested by Indian Kho-Kho Association. The main future plan of this game is to educate our youth and promote game in Bhutan. And of course, through this game, we can improve our agility and fitness,” added Dinesh Chhetri, the General Secretary for Kho-Kho in Bhutan.
Kho-Kho is played in around 30 countries in the world today, mostly in Asia.
Sangay Dorji
