Tradition vs Trend - A critical analysis of innovation and subsequent change of scoring rules in Ultimate Kho Kho

September 04, 2022, the spectators, media personnel, organizers, and everyone present at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex held their breaths. The clock was ticking down, with under twenty seconds to spare, and Odisha Juggernauts, while attacking, found themselves still trailing by two points in the final of Ultimate Kho Kho Season 1.

This author, while live blogging the game from the stadium, found his hands shaking in anticipation as he typed out the number seven to indicate the final minute of Turn 4. It was a moment of palpable suspense. Whatever the result, it would have ushered the sport into a new era.

The Juggernauts needed two points to tie the game and three to win it against the Telugu Yoddhas. Suraj Lande received a Kho and rose to his feet in a flash. He ran around the pole and went on to fly through the air to tag the defender. Lande perhaps put all that he had left in him into that dive. It was deemed as a Sky Dive which awarded the Juggernauts three points. Yes, three. A Sky Dive in season 1 awarded the team three points.

The stadium erupted, and so did the Juggernauts' dugout. The attackers ran down the few seconds remaining on the clock following which the entire bench and management of the Juggernauts rushed to the middle to celebrate as they were crowned the champions of season 1.

The second season of Ultimate Kho Kho is currently underway in Cuttack, Odisha. As the action shifts to the home of the defending champions, we have witnessed quite a stark change in the rules at Ultimate Kho Kho, especially when it comes to scoring.

Avid fans of the league will remember how in season 1, there were three points awarded for a Sky Dive and Pole Dive in attacking and a normal touch awarded the team two points. However, in season 2, any sort of tagging the defender will only award the attacking team two points.

Similarly, in defense, in season 1, if a batch lasted for two and a half minutes, the defending team was awarded two points, and another two points for every thirty seconds that they lasted subsequently. On the other hand, in season 2, a batch needs to last for 3 minutes to earn one point and is awarded only one point for lasting every thirty seconds subsequently.

These changes in rules have removed that additional element of thrill. Although the organizers will have their reasons for bringing about these changes in the scoring system, the essence of Ultimate Kho Kho, which set it apart from traditional kho kho, seems to have diminished.

This is one of the first times that we have witnessed a league go back on a set of rules almost immediately. One other example that comes to mind is the Big Bash League removing the X-Factor (substitution) rule after having it for around two seasons. However, UKK's change of rules to reduce the commercialization of the sport after just one season of the league makes one wonder - should they have tried the scoring system a few more seasons before pulling the plug?

Granted, the commercialized scoring rules in season 1 would be considered blasphemy by kho kho purists but the new viewers, who were drawn towards the sport courtesy of the league, found them to be extremely interesting. The reversal, or slight change, of these rules, might dissuade existing fans from continuing to watch the game since it has become pretty one-dimensional as compared to season 1 - more in line with traditional kho kho.

While we are still in the early stages of the sport being introduced to the masses via a franchise-based league, below are three reasons why Ultimate Kho Kho should have continued with the rules that they had introduced in the inaugural season:

#1 Tipping of the Scales - How the game has tilted majorly in favor of attackers

Points in defense are more difficult to obtain and lesser in number. (Picture Credits: Ultimate Kho Kho)

The change in the scoring of defense points has tilted the game massively in favor of the attackers. Now, it is through attacking that a team will either win or lose a match as defense can contribute very little to the win in terms of points.

Let's take the example of Match 6 of season 2 of Ultimate Kho Kho which was played on December 26 between the Chennai Quick Guns and Odisha Juggernauts. The final score read 34 apiece and ended in a tie.

Now, both teams put in the same number of Sky Dives and Pole Dives while Odisha had a couple of additional touchpoints. Where was the biggest difference though? It was the Dream Run of the very first batch of the Quick Guns. After two of his batchmates were tagged, Laxman Gawas evaded the defenders and made sure that the batch completed a stay of over 3 minutes and 30 seconds in the middle.

Since there was no difference in the Sky Dives and Pole Dives, we can conclude that Chennai Quick Guns could have won this match on the back of their defense if the previous season's rules were in place. They were awarded a meager two points for this effort (1 point at the 3-minute mark, and 1 more point at the 3:30-minute mark).

Meanwhile, if Season 1 rules had been in place, they could have received a massive six points instead (2 points on the 2:30-minute mark, 2 points on the 3-minute mark, and 2 points on the 3:30-minute mark), which would have seen them comfortably seal the game.

This should be an example, enough to prove how the defense will be unable to contribute much for a team win in Season 2 and how the scales have been tipped majorly in favor of the attackers.

#2 Efforts Unrewarded - Is putting your body on the line for your team worth it anymore?

The Sky Dive is a difficult skill to implement and can cause injuries. (Picture Credits: Ultimate Kho Kho)

The reduction of the additional points that an attacker receives for a Sky Dive and Pole Dive could see a gradual decline in the usage of those skills. The Sky Dive, in particular, demands a lot out of an attacker. Putting a full-length dive and tagging the defender while airborne is no mean task.

However, with just two points on offer for all kinds of dismissals, we might not get to experience more of the Sky Dives as the attackers might not try that in case of a half chance. With this unequal risk and reward system, the attackers will like to play it safer and not put their bodies on the line for half chances and risk injuries.

This will, in turn, reduce those magnificent leaps through the air by the attackers and subsequently reduce the eye-catching enticing action that the game promises.

#3 Subdued Scores - A relative decline in scores in Season 2 of Ultimate Kho Kho

Courtesy of the reduction in points available to attackers and defenders, this comes as quite an obvious effect. With no three-pointers available, with the reduction in defense points and an increase in the difficulty to get them, the scores are not going to be similar to what they were in season 1.

While the winning team breached the 60-point mark easily in season 1, the teams that have won so far in season 2 have had scores in the thirties or forties. Scores such as 79 by Mumbai Khiladis, 83 and 88 by Telugu Yoddhas in Season 1 will just not be possible to replicate.

While the new set of rules in kho kho could appeal to the people who have been fans of the sport traditionally, it will not bode well with fans who poured their hearts into season 1 and waited nearly a year and a half for the league's return.

Although it is essential to support a homegrown Indian sport and hope for a rise in its popularity across the country and globe, Ultimate Kho Kho should have stuck to the bold and revolutionary scoring system that they had introduced in season 1 which had truly given the sport an alluring identity.