In Doha, Qatar, the Chinese delegation is chasing the 150-gold
record set in Busan in 2002 as the Asian Games are going to conclude on Saturday.
This goal seems likely as China already snatched its 147th gold
after?He Chong won the Men's 3m Springboard title
yesterday.
TV programs and newspapers have motivated public interest in the
scoring tally as the routine reporting of China's gold haul has
gradually outshone the fun people could have enjoyed from the
games. Regrettably, a large audience is still unfamiliar with many
unique sports of the Asian Games.
Unlike the summer Olympics which strictly cap the number of
official sports at 28, the Doha Asian Games allow 39 sports
including all Olympic events minus modern pentathlon and 12
non-Olympic sports such as Sepaktakraw, Kabaddi and Wushu. What's
more, the Doha Asiad boasts 11,000 participating athletes, 500 more
than the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. In terms of the numbers of
disciplines and competitors, the Asian Games are bigger than the
Summer Olympics and all other major sporting events, such as the
Pan American Sports Games, All Africa Games and British Empire and
Commonwealth Games.
While International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques
Rogge is desperately trying to reduce the cost and complexity of
the Olympics, the Asian Games have expanded rapidly. The number of
sports on offer has soared from 6 in the first Asiad in New Delhi
to exceed 30 in the twelfth in Hiroshima, Japan. With two-thirds of
the world's population living in the continent, Asia has a great
variety of cultures and lifestyles. For a long period of time,
Thailand ruled Sepaktakraw and India dominated Kabaddi while Japan
lead in terms of karate with wushu the domain of China. Most of the
non-Olympic sports listed in the Asian Games enjoy huge numbers of
fans. The events became popular mass sports since they focus on
flexibility which fits Asian players. Besides, every host country
wants to earmark its own signature sport in Asiad, according to
Sheikh Saoud Al Thani, secretary general of the Qatar Olympic
Committee.
In the mean time, the events' governing body has realized that
the inductions of too many non-Olympic sports might bring an
overload in terms of ticket selling, TV broadcasting as well as
venues maintenance. Therefore the Olympic Council of Asia is
planning to move some non-Olympic sports from the Asiad to the
biennial Asian Indoor Games.
For China, the happy thing is that according to Liu Peng,
president of the State General Administration of Sport, about 40
percent of Chinese gold medals come from non-Olympic sports. When
primary school teachers, college students and other amateurs step
onto the podium, one can witness the progress made in mass fitness
in China.
Non-Olympic Sports in Doha Asian Games:
Wushu:
The Chinese martial art. Literally translated, "wu" is
military, "shu" is art. Wushu therefore means the art of fighting,
or martial arts. Composed of two disciplines, either taolu
(routines) or sanshou (combat), its performances include bare
hands, sword and broadsword as short apparatus, and spear and
cudgel as long apparatus.
Chess:
A board game for two players, played with 16 pieces of six kinds
each that are moved according to individual rules, with the
objective of checkmating the opposing king.
Cue Sports:
The generic term "billiards" covers a range of indoor games played
on a table with a stick, known as a cue, employed to strike the cue
ball around the table. Cue sports include: billiards, carom, pool
and snooker, all of which are featured in the 15th Asian Games.
Bowling:
Bowling is an indoor game in which players score points by rolling
a ball along a flat surface to knock down objects called pins. The
best known form of bowling is probably the American game of ten-pin
bowling. Players propel or roll a ball by hand down a wooden lane
in an attempt to knock down 10 pins arranged in a triangular
pattern.
Golf:
Golf is an outdoor sport that requires mental concentration and
great athletic skill and control. Players use a club to propel a
small ball, both through the air and along the ground, into a
series of 18 holes laid out in a course in as few strokes as
possible. Points are scored according to the number of strokes it
takes to complete the course. Unlike other games, the object of
golf is to record the lowest score possible rather than the
highest.
Bodybuilding:
Bodybuilding is the process of developing muscle fibers through the
combination of weight training, increased caloric intake, and rest.
Those engaging in this activity are referred to as bodybuilders. As
a sport, called competitive bodybuilding, bodybuilders display
their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on
their aesthetic appearance.
Sepaktakraw:
Sepaktakraw (Kick Volleyball) dates back to the 15th century when
it was played by indigenous Malays. It is a fast growing and
popular sport in Asia. Called Takraw for short, it is a cross
between soccer and volleyball, played on a badminton doubles sized
court. Similar games include jianzi, footvolley, bossaball, sipa
and footbag net.
Rugby:
Rugby is distinguished from North American football in that the
ball can only be passed backwards, not forward. The aim of the game
is to obtain as many points as possible by carrying, passing,
kicking and grounding the ball. Seven-a-side rugby (Rugby Sevens)
is played at the 15th Asian Games, a variation played with seven
instead of the regulation 15 players.
Squash:
Squash is a racquet sport played on an enclosed four-walled court.
The ball can be bounced off any wall within the marked lines
although every shot must come off the front wall before hitting the
ground. The object of the game is to win points by ensuring that
your opponent is unable to return your shot before the ball bounces
twice.
Karate:
Karate, literally meaning "way of the empty hand" in Japanese, is a
martial art focusing on striking techniques such as punching,
kicking, knee and elbow strikes using open hand techniques. It
originated as a method of self-defense which relied on the
effective use of the unarmed body, and comprised elaborate
techniques of blocking or thwarting an attack and
counter-attacking.
Kabaddi:
Kabaddi is sometimes referred to as the "game of the
masses" due to its popularity in Asia and its simple format.
Originated in South Asia, it is played with two teams of 12 players
(seven on court, and five in reserve). The game consists of two
halves of 20 minutes each. Two teams compete, alternating between
defense and offence. The purpose of the game is to reach the
highest score by touching or capturing the opposing team's players,
while continuously chanting "kabaddi-kabaddi". Points are scored by
raiding the opponents' court and touching as many defense players
as possible without getting caught.
Kabaddi
(China.org.cn by Li Xiao, December 14, 2006)
