Nikunj Depala England Kho-Kho Player
Kho-Kho is growing whether it’s Asia, Africa or Europe. Kho-Kho once played put
its impact as Kho-Kho is the game of highly explosive nature these things create interest
among nations across the globe to adapt this game. Kho-Kho is known for its action in
a short time and overall benefits over the mind and body of the player. After India,
Kenya, Srilanka,Ghana, Uganda, Senegal etc. Now it’s time for Kho-Kho to flourish in
England as already KKFE done tremendous job to popularise Kho-Kho there.
Q1. What inspires you to start Kho-Kho?
Ans. I came across Kho-Kho initially when I was young. At my community sports competition,
I had no idea what this sport was and how it was played. It looked fun and so I started
to play it. My community team won many trophies and I wanted to be part of that. I then
started to play the sport more regularly for our community team and then for my
University Team. This is what inspired me to take up the sport
Q2. As in England Cricket is the most popular one. What you say
about Kho-Kho in comparison with Cricket?
Ans. In England, cricket and football are the main sports. I ask someone on the street what
is Kho-Kho, they would have no idea. Kho-Kho is not played at school or taught at a young age
such as India. Many communities that originate from South Asia play the sport and it is passed
There is also the big difference between media coverage of the sports, there is little coverage
of Kho-Kho in England. It is not televised. Although we hope that will change in the future
with more media engagements, tournaments and increased popularity of Kho-Kho.
Q3. When you started Kho-Kho?
Ans.I started Kho-Kho when I was 12 years old at my local community club. However,
this was a different version of Kho-Kho. This version was played by most clubs in the UK.
It was only in 2016 when KKFE president Brij Haldania introduced us to proper Kho-Kho
rules and regulations. So you can say I’m very new to Kho-Kho and only have been playing
international rules for 4 years.
Q4. How Kho-Kho tournaments are organised in England?
Ans. There are many inter organisations games organised through individual committees.
Compared to India there are not many competitions. This is due to many reasons such as
weather, infrastructure and player availability.
KKFE are doing a tremendous job in trying to organise regular competitions through the
year. It ensures there is at least 1 annual championship competition a year.
There are also regular University competitions throughout the year which helps
promote the sport. This has helped coverage through the UK a lot. KKFE also had
planned a Kho-Kho league however due to COVID this has been delayed.
Q5. How players are motivated towards Kho-Kho in your country?
Ans. The players now are very motivated in playing Kho-Kho. The tours of
India have helped raised the statutes of the sport and more people are
motivated to play the sport and represent the national team. The
Ultimate Kho-Kho league and various coaching camps that have been
organised by KKFI have also increased the motivation of English players
to take part in the Ultimate Kho-Kho league. The popularity of the sport
is growing and there are a lot more resources now then there was before,
this has helped the sports coverage and help player motivation. This
will only improve and so will the motivation to play Kho-Kho.
Q6. What do you say the fitness of Kho-Kho Player in comparison to other games?
Ans. Kho-Kho is a game that requires players to be top of there fitness. Not only does
the game requires players to have speed, agility, stamina and power but players must
maintain this for 9 minutes. Very different to cricket and football where there are
periods in the game where it is not intense. You can tell the difference between teams
that have good fitness and those who do not.
Q7. In which city or districts Kho-Kho is played in England? Is there any club system?
Ans. We can say there is Kho-Kho played in many regions of the UK now.
KKFE have done an excellent job to promote the game throughout the UK
and are continuing to push it even more. In England, there are currently
around 20+ teams registered with KKFE and this continues to grow.
Q8. What are the near-future plans of England Federation for Kho-Kho?
Ans. Due to COVID-19, many exciting plans had to be put on hold at present.
The KKFE team I’m sure are working hard to organise international tournaments
and national tournaments. There has been talking of creating England’s own
Kho-Kho league between universities and clubs. Again all of this will help
promote Kho-Kho and make it even more popular.
Q9. Kho-Kho is a game of real Discipline. What do you say about this?
Ans. Kho-Kho requires a lot of discipline, making correct decisions at correct
times and this is achieved with disciplined practice. It’s only with this you
can achieve results in Kho-Kho. This also means being disciplined off the field.
The discipline of practising and keeping fit and learning from others is very
important to maintain and learn the skills needed in Kho-Kho.
Q10. What are the best moments in your planning career?
Ans. There are a few best moments. I do treasure being voted best player twice by
KKFE. I also think our first international tour against India is something no
England player will ever forget and was a pivotal point for Kho-Kho being an
Q11. How u would like to connect more with other players and
What’s is your thought on promoting this beautiful game?
Ans. I would love to connect with more Kho-Kho players as essentially we are one big family.
I follow a few Kho-Kho players on Instagram and Facebook and we keep in touch. It would be
nice if more international tournaments and camps are organised so players can meet. I also
think the introduction of Ultimate Kho-Kho league will allow more players to mix, learn
about others and allow the promotion of Kho-Kho to an international audience. We can already
see the promotion of Kho-Kho in Africa and other countries and hats of to the people
spreading the game. I’m sure a world championship is not far away and this will further
Q12. Do you hear about Voice of International player world popular Kho-Kho
promoter with presence in more than 30 countries? Any words for it
Ans. I think its a great blog and a platform to promote Kho-Kho around the globe.
It’s a platform which brings the world of Kho-Kho in one place. Doing a great
job and hopefully, it will continue to grow.
