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Ultimate Kho Kho has brought about a sporting revolution in the world of kho kho, with the indigenous sport being given a new lease of life, and the charismatic persona of Tenzing Niyogi has paved the way for this. It has been under his leadership that the league has been born and has drawn in the masses.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, the CEO of Ultimate Kho Kho opened up on the reason for the change in venue, a possible expansion of the league, and the secret behind having a draft instead of an auction in UKK.
Read excerpts from the interview below:
Q: Let's talk about the journey from season one to season two. We had season one in Pune, season two moved to Odisha. So was there any particular reason for that change or was it just because Odisha Juggernauts won?
Tenzing Niyogi: No, it was nothing to do with the winning team or the winning venue. It was actually a matter of fact that when we came here in mid-September in 2022, the Honorable CM Sri Naveen Patnaik had invited all of us, the winning team, and asked to felicitate us. And then during the press interaction, he actually said that, 'Tenzing, would you mind if I were to host you for season two?'
Now, I think the only apt answer when a Chief Minister asks you something, the answer would be yes. I think the way Odisha has anyway sort of driven the overall sports movement, it has become the sports hub. It is second to none with the sports sciences center that they're building up, the high performance training centers that they've developed, the kind of talent identification and churning that they're putting their efforts into, the brick and mortar that they're leaving their legacy behind. It's just second to none.
So it was actually a privilege and an honor to be hosted by the Government of Odisha. Next year, we will again, in all probability, get into one or maybe two venues, depending on the number of teams increase. We will be looking at tier one cities.
Q: Speaking of the addition of teams, when can we expect the expansion of the league?
Tenzing Niyogi: The way we would go is that, see, we can increase as many teams as possible. But this is a business. One needs to understand that it has to be sustainable from multiple perspectives.
Broadcaster has to give you that clear window, which is never going to happen now with the influx of cricket and multiple other things coming in. So you will be clashing with one property or the other. But the window should be as clean as possible. Also, it should be on prime time where there is no other international property happening.
When you add more teams, the costs increase from an on-ground standpoint, TV production, stadium. And then you should also have that much of bandwidth in terms of the player population, which we, of course, believe because there is a massive population of 20, 25 lakh plus athletes who are playing kho kho.
So we can see that the younger generation is now sort of given a run for the money to the likes of Ramjis and the Pratik Vaikars and the Aniket Potes, which is a sign around that, yes, we are going at the right track. We typically would like to add two more new teams.
I am more particular not on the number, but on the geography that I sell it in. I would like to sell the next team in Madhya Pradesh. So either it's going to be, again, the city can be decided. The name of the team typically is city-based. Telugu decided to go with the language, which I love the way they have gone ahead. But Indore, Jabalpur, Satna, Gwalior - they're just absolutely jam packed with kho kho enthusiasts.
I remember before we sold these teams, we were contemplating selling one team out of Indore. We were looking at caravan style format. Now it is not. The decision of one venue is amazing because it works in favor of a sustainable business model. It's all about, you know, making business sense eventually, making commercial sense. It should be economically viable.
So we will be adding in two more new teams. So all states are available. Anyone can pick up any state because as I say that, and I used to be very, I used to feel very happy about it, that in the first presentations, I never used to have the India map where you had flags pinpointed that these are the cities or these are the states that can be sold. I never used to have a map. I said, you can pick up any city and kho kho will be here.
Q: Just going to the pre-tournament phase about Ultimate Kho Kho. There's a draft that happens. Majority of the sporting leagues actually opt for an auction. So any plans of having an auction in Ultimate Kho Kho soon rather than a draft?
Tenzing Niyogi: Yeah, the answer to your question is a simple yes. But you know the reason why we do the draft. There's a reason and that's again driven via business model, right? What happens is, and it's horses for the causes. Kho kho, Kabaddi, wrestling, multiple other Indian sports. The athletes, the talent who come out have not seen money in much abundance.
I'll give you a small example and I'll come to this. I was at the hotel and I met the Telugu Yoddhas coach. He comes in and he gave me a hug. He was slightly teary-eyed. So I said, all okay, coach. Well done. You played well. He said, sir, I'm not crying for that. He said, you don't know how big of a platform you've given us. That we'll always be with you. And then he gives me an example - Sachin Bhargo. You know what he does? He's a daily wager. He picks up bricks. Leave this hotel, he doesn't have money to wear this t-shirt. He's coming on TV today. He has a roof at home. He has money.
So the point is that the human impact of any sporting league has been very less valued in India. I have realized this that Ultimate Kho Kho has become one of those channels where we've given a voice to an athlete. It's not only a sports league. This is a movement. It is a legacy project.
Ultimate Kho Kho is a movement which will carry on and outlive all of us, at least us. It will certainly outlive my life. That's how I built the model. So the first step when I took in 2018 was keeping in mind a 25-year horizon.
Now I'll come to why drafts make more sense. When you get the business entities to buy on your idea, then the value that you're paying as a salary needs to be capped so that you don't hit red in your P&L and you hit green at the earliest. That's what every business wants.
When you go into an auction, even you can do a capped auction. But what that does is that you might end up, because you don't have that much of understanding of the sport at the beginning. So we had given all data points to all the franchises in Season 1 itself, mind you. We were one of the few leagues to give all data points so they could take an informed decision on the table, throwing up their paddle, for their draft.
Draft is basically not a luck, but all the franchises get one chance each. And then they pick up as per their grades. So we had graded the players in Grade A, B and C. And we had capped that salary. What that does is, it doesn't give out too much of money to a person who has not seen money. And it does not play in the mental psyche. And I'm a firm believer of mental psyche.
A player needs to perform to its truest potential on the field of play, not thinking about money or thinking about money. It should be neutral. He should dedicate and focus on the game. That is why you see the magic which is happening. If today these players would have been getting 20-25 lakhs a year, I can assure you, you will not see this magic.
So what you need to do is, as a smart business model, you have to gradually increase the salary. And then eventually reach from draft to an auction model or maybe cut into a hybrid model in the middle, where you give the franchises some more money to play around with, with a consensus with all the franchises that, yes, we are willing to pay some more to the players, the topmost players who we are retaining.
And keep the equilibrium maintained in the mental psyche of the player. Because once the establishment years are taken care of, where the players are now treated as families, they are one cohesive unit. And then once they start believing in that, then slowly and steadily the gradual process happens. Then you reach auctions. Now they are mentally prepared because they have seen all the glam.
I will give you a simple example. Why do you think a Shubman Gill, why do you think a Shreyas Iyer, why do you think a Jasprit Bumrah played international cricket with so much of ease? Because they had already experienced 80,000 people in IPL. They don't get intimidated. What is it? It's mental psyche. They are used to it. It's not the money.
It's the absorption and acceptance of high pressure games. That's what I am trying to do. I am trying to get them into a level where 5000 people chanting their names is just another wave. They are getting used to it and then they will be ready for currency transaction. That's how you make and build a human. You have to put mould then and I believe in that.
