Focus

The games people play at the Games

By Cui Jia and Lei Lei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-12 08:08

Learning the basics

Kabbadi, which originated in South Asia, is the only event the Chinese team will not compete in this year (the country does not have a national federation).

Su Jie, the director responsible for organizing the 2010 events, said the first thing she did after being assigned the job by the State General Administration of Sport was to turn to Google.

"We had to start from scratch, from the basic rules to tactics," she said. "You can't successfully host a game if you don't know it, so our initial task was to learn from the Internet, previous Asian Games and experts."

Today, Su is somewhat an expert herself after all her research - an experienced Gao Kunpeng, competition director for sepak takraw, said his team also shared. He added: "Our knowledge of the game was like a blank page at the start but now it's like a library of books."

Help with kabaddi has also come from the Asian Amateur Kabaddi Federation, which will also train 30 Chinese coaches to teach the games in schools and colleges.

"(Kabbadi) can be played on grass or sand, so it is very suitable for the Chinese," explained Prasad Rao, the federation's technical director, who said he hopes a Chinese team will feature at the next Asiad.

Wu Hong, who lives in Guangzhou, is one sports fan who cannot wait for the kabbadi competition to start.

"I love the game because it's fun and relaxing," said the 46-year-old. "After all, the inclusion of non-Olympic sports is what distinguishes the Asian Games from other events. You cannot watch these games anywhere else (in China)."

This will, however, be the last time organizers can include more than seven non-Olympic sports. The limit was set as part of efforts to reduce the costs of hosting the Asiad.