Kho-kho words · Beginner

The words you will hear in your first match, grouped the way you meet them.

B · Beginner · 23 words · Step 1 of 2

Basic terms

Kho Kho

A tag game of India between two teams. One team chases from a line of seated players who pass the chase on with a touch and the call kho, while the other team's runners, a few at a time, try to avoid being touched.

Also called: kho-kho

Turn

A timed period in which one team chases and the other defends. The Referee and timekeeper start and end it with whistles, and the timekeeper calls each minute.

Inning

One chasing turn and one defending turn for each team. A match has two innings.

Also called: innings

Toss

Before the match the Referee calls both captains for a coin toss. The winner chooses chasing or defence by pointing to the central lane or the side line.

The field

Field and court

The field is the whole marked area bounded by the end lines and side lines. The court is the part between the two post lines. At each end beyond the court is the free zone.

Post

One of two smooth wooden posts, 120 to 125 cm high, 9 to 10 cm across, fixed at the end of the central lane. An attacker may turn round a post to change direction.

See also: Central lane, Attacker, Direction

Central lane

The 30 cm wide strip between the two posts that divides the court into two halves. An attacker may not cross or touch it with any part of the body, with one exception, and doing so is a foul.

Cross lane

A 30 cm wide strip across the court at a right angle to the central lane. The lanes cross at the squares.

Square

The 30 cm by 30 cm area where the central lane meets a cross lane. The seated chasers each take a square, facing the side lines in alternating directions.

Free zone

The part of the field beyond each post line. The chase starts from the free zone, and the rules about taking a direction and receding do not apply in it.

Players and roles

Chaser

A player of the chasing team. Most chasers sit in the squares while one, the attacker, runs.

Attacker

The chaser who is running to touch a defender. An attacker who gives kho stops being an attacker and sits down in the square of the chaser who gets it.

Also called: active chaser
See also: Square, Chaser, Defender

Runner

A player of the team that is not chasing. The runners in the field are the defenders.

Defender

A runner who is inside the field for the team's turn of defence.

Batch

The group of runners who go into the field together. When the whole batch is out, the next one enters from the entry zone and the attacker must give kho, not chase the new batch directly. The batch size depends on the format.

Chasing and movement

Kho

How the chase passes to the next chaser. The attacker touches the seated chaser by hand from behind and then calls kho loudly. The chaser stands up and becomes the attacker. Calling before touching, or calling any other word, is a foul.

Also called: to give kho
See also: Chaser, Attacker

Direction

The way an attacker is going, towards one post line, chosen by the way they turn their shoulders or step across a cross lane when they get kho. Once taken, the attacker must keep to it until reaching the free zone, unless they give kho.

Also called: to take a direction
See also: Post, Cross lane, Free zone, Attacker

Out

A defender is out when touched by hand by an attacker who has not broken a rule, or when they lose foot contact with the field and go outside it. The Umpire signals it with a short whistle.

Also called: defender out
See also: Attacker, Defender, Umpire

Fouls and discipline

Foul

A rule break by an attacker or a chaser. The Umpire blows a continuous short whistle and sends the attacker the opposite way. A defender who was being chased when the foul happened is not out.

See also: Chaser, Attacker, Defender, Umpire

Crossing the central lane

A foul by an attacker. Crossing or touching the central lane by any part of the body is penalised, with an exception for the edge on the attacker's own chasing half unless it is done while touching a defender.

See also: Central lane, Attacker, Defender

Match format

Senior, junior and sub-junior

The KKFI's national championship categories: Senior (open to all), Junior (under 18) and Sub-Junior (under 14), each for both genders. Age is counted on the last day of the championship.

Officials

Referee

The match's chief official. The Referee takes the toss, checks the score sheet, gives the final decision if the umpires differ, and can penalise players and teams with warnings and cards.

Umpire

An official who moves in the lobby, declares fouls and makes the attacker keep to the rules. There are two. The competition guidelines also list two post umpires.