Ultimate Kho Kho CEO Tenzing Niyogi (centre) hands over the Season 1 trophy to Odisha Juggernauts players after their team defeated Telugu Yoddhas in the final last Sunday. (Photo: News9)

Ultimate Kho Kho – the professional league for an amateur sport that's played by almost all in their childhood but followed by none has been an instant hit. In a sport which had no icons, an economy which was recovering from the pandemic, and at a time when other leagues had died a pre-mature death, the kho kho league is off to a flying start. Season 1 of Ultimate Kho Kho received tremendous response with the venue Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune witnessing capacity crowds throughout the August 14 to September 4 tournament period.

In a thrilling final that was broadcast live across the country, Odisha Juggernauts defeated Telugu Yoddhas 46-45 to lift the inaugural season trophy in Pune last Sunday. The first edition champions posed for images amidst loud cheers from the crowd as confetti poured in from above along with foot-tapping music, amplifying the celebrations.

The other four teams in the professional kho kho league were Chennai Quick Guns, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Khiladis and Rajasthan Warriors.

After getting first-hand experience from Ichalkaranji in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra in 2018, UKK CEO Tenzing Niyogi felt kho kho had all the ingredients to become a success story. From tweaking the format for live broadcast to introducing 'Wazir' inspired by chess, Niyogi incorporated crucial changes to make the inaugural kho kho league a grand success.

In an exclusive interview with News9 Sports, Niyogi shared how deviation from tradition and new technology got the league off to a flying start. He confirmed that Season 2 will be a two-venue and eight-team affair. Excerpts from the interview:

Rohit Bhardwaj: It has been a roller-coaster ride for Ultimate Kho Kho since it was conceptualised in 2018 and launched in 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak played spoilsport. How would you assess UKK's journey till the successful staging of the first edition?

Niyogi: Experiential to say the least since 2018, we met up then. It was a small little idea that got developed over the years into a big dream and then into a reality. Absolutely stoked and very happy with the response we have got till now. Right from the time in 2018 when I first saw the sport, I was very clear that this sport had all the ingredients to become a success story if captured beautifully on air. The fast-paced nature, thrill, high octane energy, indoor sport, maati ka khel ab mat pe (mud sport being played on mat); multiple success factors which have worked for a lot of other non-cricketing sports in India. That was the idea when we got into the journey along with my investor Amit Burman (promoter, Dabur India) and then silsila chalta raha, karwaan badhta raha (The caravan continued to grow). We had great support from the KKFI (Kho Kho Federation of India) and the team owners. I was very clear as to bring in the big boys on the table. We successfully managed to bring six big entities as team owners. Sony Network has been an amazing partner and supporter. They have given us impetus to move ahead. And the players. Their journey is what dreams are made of. Mud to mat, the way they have expressed themselves is simply fabulous.

A chunk of the 143 players competing in UKK come from humble backgrounds...

That was always part of the story. We always knew that these players come from very humble backgrounds. That is actually a very big plus to building a successful sports league. If you see their attitude towards the sport, the way they approach the game, skill sets. The way they listen to their coaches, it all sort of comes together. For them it was especially important to get a professional set up, which was led by governance, transparency, and excellence. That's what Ultimate Kho Kho strives for. If you look at the bottom of the pyramid for any sport, it's nice and packed – full of talent pool, both genders playing. Then all that sport needs is a top league at the apex of the pyramid. That's what the agenda was. I think all the players have understood that.

When you started off, there was a successful model – Pro Kabaddi to look up to for inspiration. Unlike kabaddi, you made a lot of changes to the format, introduced the 'Wazir,' duration of turns and scoring system were also tweaked to make it television friendly. How did you envision all that?

That's an amazing story. Like I said, as I saw the sport for the first time in Maharashtra in a place called Icchalkaranji, I had no doubt because it had all the spectacles. It had sky dive, pole dive, adrenaline rush, was very fast paced. The day we saw it, I immediately knew it would be the fastest sport India would have ever seen. On ground definitely, but can we transform it into air. That is where the format changes started coming in. That is where we started believing if we had to create a one-hour product which comes on prime time per match so that there are double headers every day, then you start driving audiences to appointment viewing. Keeping that as the benchmark, then we started trickling down, tweaking a little bit of format changes.

Largely, we have introduced the 'Wazir' and that is a humongous success story for both the 'Wazirs' and the audiences who now know that this guy can go either right or left, whichever way he wants to. That has changed the dynamics from a scoring, match play and strategic perspective. Secondly, when we introduced a powerplay. The involvement of coaches becomes crucial there. I always wanted to come back with a sport in India where coaches had a say. Very few sport – football for example – the managers are behind the scenes. They do the strategy but at such a big field it is slightly difficult when you can't hear Point A to Point B. However, in a small court like this the coach's strategy looking at the opposition attacking or defending, his decision to put in a powerplay becomes crucial. That has come about very nicely. There was a separate coaching camp that was on apart from the 18 cameras capturing the action.

You have also floated the idea of having a women's league in kho kho in future. Talk us through that.

We have received tremendous response; women have embraced the sport more than men. If you come to think of it, women have sampled kho kho more than men and that's a reality in India. So, when we envisioned Ultimate Kho Kho, we were very sure that women will see this. Right from metros to non-metros and Tier-3 markets, the response has been fabulous from women's perspective. Also because of the long-term rights we have with KKFI for the men's, women's, and grassroots leagues, we will see what we can do with the women's league. As of now, the focus is on the men's league for Season 2. We will be looking to add multiple elements in Season 2 from the technology and data analytics standpoint to the players coming in, adding a few more teams, etc. It will be a grander story going forward.

This part of their lives, this little part, is called 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦 🤩Here's the moment when @od_juggernauts lifted the coveted #UltimateKhoKho Trophy 🏆#IndiaMaarChalaang #AbKhoHoga #KhoKho @sports_odisha pic.twitter.com/vvD19isykT

Will international players be competing in UKK-2, especially after the lifting of COVID-related travel restrictions?

From a participation standpoint, we did foresee overseas players participating but due to COVID-19 a lot of things didn't fall into place. Going forward, there is an Asian Championship, World Championship happening. Upwards of 30 countries are going to play. That will be a big hunting ground for a professional league like UKK, to see who the best players are, because we don't want a flurry of foreign players coming in. This is maati ka khel which is rooted in Bhartiyata (Indianness) and is a symbol of pride for India. At the same time from a television perspective, overseas players play a very critical role. We will be looking at a pool of 5-10 players coming in. The SAARC nations play it, Korea, Iran, and there are countries in Europe that play. It has also transcended into the Africa nations. That's a beautiful mix going forward when you see other people playing our sport. That's part of the plan right now.

Two more teams have been proposed from next season onwards. How much corporate interest has been generated for buying the teams especially after the live broadcast of UKK Season 1?

We have received a lot of queries. The first day when we came out with the GMR Sports and Adani Sportsline press release, I had already got calls from four entities, who have been on the pipeline as we speak. I can tell you that they are big. There are some state governments also who have approached us. So, it's interesting, we will wait and see how it folds out. It will be quite interesting to see how many teams and which entities we would like to bring to the UKK bandwagon. We will be looking to expanding the venues for Season 2 – we will be looking at a two-venue affair. Then we will take a decision to take it caravan style or not.

Are you looking at player auctions next year or are content with the player draft that was conducted prior to the first edition two months back?

There was a commercial reason for keeping the drafts alive. It keeps the financial model healthier from the franchise's point of view. Even a one-venue affair is based on that decision. At UKK, we understand a healthy franchise is equal to a healthy league. Going straight up for the auction I don't think will be a feasible opportunity for the franchises. We will be looking at a newer business model with drafts. It could be part of the money, part of the pool, dedicated towards draft and there could be a part dedicated to auction, which is a hybrid model of draft and auction.

Now the family is waiting for a bail in connection with a case under PMLA at Lucknow court.

Bajrang Dal and VHP claimed Kamra "mocks and makes fun of Hindu deities in his show" demanding his shows to be...

Charles, 73, became monarch immediately after the death of his mother at her Scottish Highland retreat on Thursday.

In London, 96 rounds of gun salutes – one for every year of the Queen's life – have been fired in tribute to the late...

The two sides have also agreed to take the talks forward and resolve remaining issues and restore peace and tranquility...

Several IT companies are still underwater despite efforts to drain out the water which has caused difficulties to...

Kohinoor is a diamond with a mystery and history. From emperors to queens, the diamond has changed several hands...

In the last seven decades on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II saw 15 British Prime Ministers come and go, from Winston...

In a statement, Charles called his mother's death "a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my...

At the event, Modi met a group of sixteen workers, who were engaged in the redevelopment of the entire stretch, and...

Elizabeth, who marked 70 years on the throne this year, is the oldest and longest-reigning monarch in British history....

Kohli struck a delightful unbeaten 122 off just 61 balls, while stand-in skipper KL Rahul scored 62 off 41 deliveries to...