Kho Kho will gain more popularity because of World Cup: KKFI general secretary MS Tyagi

New Delhi: India is gearing up to host the first-ever Kho Kho World Cup in January next year and KKFI general secretary MS Tyagi, who has worked closely at the grassroots level, has expressed his delight and said that the global event will play a vital role in making the sport more popular.

“The World Cup is a big thing for any federation. The tournament will play a massive role in making the sport more popular in the country. The younger crop will get motivated and inspired. I am very confident that Kho Kho will gain more popularity because of the World Cup that is happening in India,” Tyagi said.

Tyagi has been associated with the sport since 1964 and has played eight nationals. Furthermore, he topped the NIS course and was recruited as the coach at the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.

He completed his training method course (Fitness) GTMT and sports management course in collaboration with the University of California and uses these skills and experience to help guide the future stars of Kho Kho.

"My posting was initially in Patiala and then I came to Delhi. Meanwhile, I was sent to pursue the course for training method which is for fitness. This was followed by me training the coaches of other sports in the country."

The former player has had a decorated career as the coach as he has made valuable contributions for both Kabbadi and Kho Kho. "I was also the coach of India's Kabaddi team for the first international tournament in 1985. Before that in 1982, I was the coach of Kho Kho team for the demonstration. So basically, from 1982-85, I was a part of the international tournaments for both Kabaddi and Kho Kho," he said.

"I was the national coach till 1990. Then in 1990, I was appointed as project officer by NIS. My responsibility was to take care of the preparations of all the Indian teams. From 1990 to 2013, I was performing the duty. I retired in 2013 but the then Sports Minister, Vijay Goel appointed me as the director and gave me the responsibility to take care of the Rural Development Games. I was there for one and a half years."

Tyagi became a part of the KKFI in 2017 and is thankful to president Sudhanshu Mittal for the kind of work that he has been doing to promote the sport in the country.

"In 2017, I became a part of Kho Kho Federation as the secretary. I'm glad and feel fortunate that Sudhanshu Mittal has been our president. Under Sudhanshu sir’s guidance, the sport has grown tenfold. A lot of credit goes to him for the kind of work he is doing for Kho Kho. The best example of this is the World Cup happening in India. We thank him for the contributions that he has been making to promote the sport," he further added.

The franchise-based model in any sport has been gathering a lot of attention. UKKL is one such tournament which has gathered the limelight and according to Tyagi, it has been helpful in providing the players financial support. "The UKKL has played an important role in bringing up more talent and it has been very helpful financially."

The KKFI’s general secretary also lauded the KKFI’s Sports Science Program. "The KKFI’s Sports Science Program is a very good method of having an understanding of a player's body, game and technique. It gives you the minute details about the player and the areas that he or she has to work on," he concluded.