Personalities

- Nisha Millet
- Vijay Bharadwaj
- Aparna Popat
- P. Gopichand
- Mahesh Bhupathi
- Anil Kumble
- P.Anil Kumar

Young Achievers

- Punkaj Advani
- Shilpa Sequeira
- Neema Joyappa
- B.N. Chandrika

Interview

- Roger Binny
- M Azharuddin
- Raman Subba Row
- Ashok Shandilya

Review

Sports History

Kho-Kho

A totally indigenous game like kabaddi, the origins of kho kho are steeped in Indian traditions and mythology. Basically evolving from the simple concept of run and chase, kho kho is believed to have been the 'Rasa Kreeda' of Lord Krishna.

Another background to this game is the Indian belief of the influence of the nine planets or Nava Grahas on the life of every individual and the more one wins over the Nava Grahas, the more one is closer to salvation. Similarly in the game of kho kho, nine chasers organised in a pre-determined manner (eight seated and one ready to chase) plan and cover a player from the opposing team and try to get him/ her out to score a point within the bounds of the court which, again like in kabaddi, is very simple and easy to prepare.

In modern times, the game developed in Maharashtra and gained immense popularity. The first code of rules was drawn up by a team of kho kho experts appointed by the Deccan Gymkhana, Pune in 1914. The rules were remodelled by the Hind-Vijay Gymkhana, Baroda in 1924. The Akhila Maharashtra Shareera Shikshana Mandal (AMSSM) formed in 1928 took up the onus of stream lining the rules of the game. The Mandal first elicited the opinion and views from kho kho experts all over the country and accepted the improved version as suggested by the experts in 1933.

Kho-Kho play field

The first book of rules was published in 1935 by the AMSSM and in 1938, the Mandal came out with the second edition of the same. The AMSSM came out with a new book of rules in 1949. The game spread to the other States largely due to the efforts of the YMCA, Madras and the RSS movement. People with highly nationalistic interests utilised such indigenous games to motivate youngsters during the Independence struggle to come together under a common platform and then propagate their nationalistic messages.

After Independence, private clubs and organisations began popularising this game, which requires explosive bursts of speed, fast reactions, quick thinking and tremendous stamina, besides ability and body control to swerve out of the way or dodge a rival chaser. The game inculcates the Indian philosophy of 'simple living, but high thinking.

The Akhila Bharatiya Kho Kho Mandal (ABKM) formed at the initiative of the National Association of Physical Education and Recreation, initially organised national level tournaments. Subsequently, due to the efforts of Bhai Nehrurkar, a national federation for kho kho and kabaddi was established in 1955 with Bhai Nehrurkar as the first president. The association was later bifurcated as separate national federations for kho kho and kabaddi. In the Meanwhile, the ABKM had become defunct and the responsibility of conducting the national championship fell on the Kho Kho Federation of India. The first national championship for men was held during 1959/60 in Vijayawada and Maharashtra emerged as the national champion. The first national championship for women was held at Kolhapur during 1960/61 with Madhya Pradesh emerging as the champion. The first national junior championship for boys was introduced in Hyderabad in 1970/71 and the first national junior championship for girls in Dewas in 1974/75. The sub-junior category (both boys and girls) was introduced in Pondicherry in 1986/ 87. The inter-zonal Federation Cup was introduced in 1983 and from 1991, the senior nationals has become an open championship in order to accommodate institutional teams.

Though there are records of the demonstration of the game by Indian teams in Sweden and Denmark in 1949, the first recognised foreign tour was in 1987 when a 26-member Indian women's team toured Russia for 15 days as a part of the Festival of India, demonstrating the sport in Moscow, Kiev and Minsk cities. Apart from the Arjuna Awards, the other awards unique to the game of kho kho are the Ekalavya (men), Rani Lakshmi (women), Veer Abhimanyu (junior boys) and Janaki (junior girls).