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New Delhi: The ancient game of kho kho is enjoying a resurgence in India, with organizers of the first international tournament hoping their efforts will secure the sport’s place in the Olympics.
Kho kho, a catch-me-if-you-can tag sport, has been played for more than 2,000 years across southern Asia but only saw its rules formalized in the early 20th century.
It was played as a demonstration sport at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin but did not gather enough support to be included in the Summer Games and since then has been largely eclipsed by India’s ferocious love of cricket.
Nearly a century later, enthusiasts have sought to raise its profile with the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup featuring teams from 23 nations competing in India’s capital New Delhi.
The tournament’s opening ceremony saw a gala of song, dance and an Olympic-style team parade, reflecting the aspirations of organizers and athletes to take the sport global.
“My elder sister played the sport, but was not able to pursue her dreams,” Indian women’s team player Nasreen Shaikh, 26, told AFP.
“We have crossed the first barrier of playing in a World Cup. The next big step would be an entry in the Olympics.”

Kho kho is traditionally played outside on a rectangular court, divided in two by a line that connects two poles at either end of the field.
Teams switch between attack and defense, with the former chasing and tagging defending players around the field.
Only one player can give chase at a time and attacking players can only move in one direction around the court, forcing them to tag in team-mates crouched on the center line to take over pursuit.
The match is won by whichever team can gain the most points, primarily by tagging defenders faster than the opposing team.
The franchise-based Ultimate Kho Kho League, founded in 2022, brought the sport off grassy fields and onto indoor mats, also boosting its profile with a television audience.
Since then the league has become the third most-watched non-cricket sports tournament in the world’s most populous country after the Pro Kabaddi League — another ancient Indian tag sport — and the Indian Super League football competition.
“The turning point was when it transitioned from mud to mat. It made it into a global game,” Kho Kho Federation of India president Sudhanshu Mittal told AFP.
“Today we are in 55 countries... Native players in countries like Germany, Brazil, and Kenya are embracing the game because of its speed, agility and minimal equipment required.”
Mittal said he expected the sport to gain a foothold in dozens more countries by the end of the year, giving it a strong claim to be featured in the Olympics in the coming decade.
That would coincide with India’s audacious bid to host the 2036 Games in the city of Ahmedabad, 100 years after kho kho last appeared at the Olympics.
The United States, England and Australia were among the nations that competed in this month’s World Cup in New Delhi, with expatriate Indians heavily represented after taking the game to foreign shores.
But Pakistan is a glaring omission from the competition despite the sport being popular there — a reflection of the deep animosity between the nuclear-armed archrivals.
World Cup organizers refused to comment on the absence, which failed to dim the sense of optimism at the competition that the sport is destined to thrive.
“There has been a sea change in the sport,” Indian men’s team captain Pratik Waikar, 32, told AFP.
“Cricket has a rich history and they developed it well by going live on TV, and now our sport has also gone live,” he said. “In the next five years it will be on another level.”

LONDON: Manchester City are on the brink of a humiliating Champions League exit after a stunning loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, and Real Madrid are no longer at risk after routing Salzburg.

Man City blew a two-goal lead in a high-stakes clash of super-wealthy underachievers that PSG won 4-2 in Paris yet still could be eliminated alongside the English champions after the final round of games next week.

Only the top 24 in the 36-team standings will advance and Man City, the 2023 champion, will kick off in 25th place but will squeeze into the knockout playoffs round by beating Club Brugge.

“We will do everything there and if we don’t do it we don’t deserve it,” manager Pep Guardiola said of the game in Manchester in one week’s time. Brugge needs just a draw to advance.

PSG rose to 22nd place to set up another tense challenge, at 24th-place Stuttgart which likely needs to win.

Early in the second half in Paris, it was Man City looking set to send PSG close to elimination by taking a two-goal lead. Jack Grealish, a halftime substitute, scored in the 50th minute then his pass across the goalmouth was deflected toward Erling Haaland for a second four minutes later.

Within six remarkable minutes PSG were level, from goals by Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola, and a stunning turnaround was completed in the 78th when Joao Neves headed the decisive goal. Gonçalo Ramos added a fourth in stoppage time.

Madrid advance to knockout phase

After winning a record 15th European title last season, then signing France star Kylian Mbappe in the offseason, it probably should not have been such a drama for Real Madrid to reach the knockout stages in the new Champions League format.

But three losses in six games — to Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool — left Madrid in 22nd place at kickoff Wednesday, before swatting aside Salzburg 5-1 to rise into 16th.

Brazil stars Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior each scored twice, either side of a goal for Kylian Mbappé, in a mismatch ahead of the teams meeting again in the FIFA Club World Cup, in Philadelphia on June 26.

Arsenal, Inter and Milan secure wins

Arsenal and Inter got expected wins to rise to third and fourth, respectively, though not sure yet to join Liverpool and Barcelona among the top-eight teams advancing direct to the round of 16.

Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 and Inter won 1-0 at Sparta Prague that lifted both to 16 points, three clear of ninth-place Aston Villa.

AC Milan quietly went about its business rising to sixth place with a 1-0 win against Girona at San Siro, on a powerful strike in the first half by Rafael Leão.

Bayern slump , risk tough path ahead

Bayern Munich fell to a 3-0 defeat at Feyenoord and dropped to 15th in the mid-table morass of storied clubs — currently including Madrid and Juventus — who risk facing each other in the knockout playoff rounds in February.

The teams that finish Nos. 15-18 in the standings next week will be drawn against each other in the playoffs — for the right to face Liverpool and, likely, Barcelona in the round of 16.

Bayern are fortunate to have one of the easier-seeming final games, at home to Slovan Bratislava, which have lost seven straight.

Celtic secured their place in the knockout rounds by winning 1-0 against last-place Young Boys, the other team to lose seven times.

Leipzig ended their six-game losing run with a 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon, though the champion of Portugal still is favored to advance. Shakhtar Donetsk stayed in contention — just — with a 2-0 win against Brest, who will be in the knockout phase.

Final round

All 36 teams will be in action at the same time next Wednesday in 18 games kicking off at the same time — 9 p.m. Central European Time (2000 GMT).

The top eight in the final standings get a break until March, waiting for the round of 16. Teams that finish from ninth to 24th enter the knockout playoffs. Those two-leg pairings are drawn Jan. 31 at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.