Olympic is a sporting tournament which has earliest recollection to the 700 century BC and still continues to behold a strong presence on the hearts of the sports fans across the globe. It’s this festivity lasting a fortnight, glory at which is sought by sporting athletes who put in years of sheer hardwork in order to fetch a medal. Yet, some sports have managed to dominate the television coverage and certain sports that may probably be a very interesting watch have been somehow overlooked by us as viewers; through this piece we aim at suggesting you a few sports that are even though less popular but you might want to start following because they’re awesome :
Modern Pentathlon
Congratulations to this year's Modern Pentathlon Gold medalists! Laser pistols are only one part of the competition. pic.twitter.com/QNLJuGoFi3
— SemiNex Corporation (@SemiNexLasers) August 23, 2016
It has 5 different styles – fencing, 200m freestyle swimming, show jumping and 2 forms of pistol shooting. Each of these sports is less followed but that is an unfair assessment in a broad sense about the entertainment quotient that they’re able to provide.
Fencing
📷 Kong #HKG vs @RossyPuppy #ITA in the round 16 of women's epee #ThrowBack #Fencing #Rio2016 #olympics pic.twitter.com/3jJQLNpk46
— FIE (@FIE_fencing) August 18, 2016
A sword fight to fetch the prestigious Olympic medal just by the sound of it sounds interesting. We correct ourselves; it sounds Leg-En-Dary. If you didn’t watch the kings fight it out in battles with a sword, we recommend giving Fencing an opportunity.
Freestyle
A94.#Swimming:#Rio2016 35 yo @AnthonyErvin won the 50m freestyle & became the oldest man to win an individual #Gold pic.twitter.com/V8LURNu26B
— Olympic Games Trivia (@triviaOlympics) August 21, 2016
it is a form of swimming wherein the swimmers are limited to swimming stroke. In this the swimmer is free to choose the style which suits them the best and therefore achieve the fastest speed. Longest distance in this is 1500M.
Show Jumping
One horse, one rider and various hindrances – sounds like an excerpt from a movie on king’s but believe us, it’s an Olympic sport and a stylish one at that. The sport became part of the Olympics in as early as 1912 but still doesn’t qualify as the most popular sport in the tournament but gradually it is ought to catch people’s eyeballs. Imagine a pack of chips and a cola, sitting on your comfortable couch and watching show junping– sure sounds entertaining.
Pistol Shooting
Twenty-yo Anna Korakaki of Greece won a #gold medal in women' s 25-meter pistol shooting #Rio2016 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/m4r7hECfn6
— Hans Solo (@thandojo) August 12, 2016
There’s a difference between shooting with a rifle and shooting with a pistol, the latter ought to be a little more challenging as the target arc is significantly not as large as that in a rife. Pistol shooting has been part of the Olympics since 1896 and while rifle shooting is one of the most widely followed sport, pistol shooting still isn’t – it’s simply entertaining, if not more than rifle shooting.
Walking
THERES A WALKING EVENT AT THE OLYMPICS pic.twitter.com/IPb17nCwuF
— Crooked Caroline (@platypus_shark) August 30, 2016
Athletics as a sport doesn’t come easy and only the most fittest and physically gruesome athletes get to qualify into the stage of Olympics – not only is athletics (running namely) a sport that is quick and easily watchable with popcorn, it’s is damn fun. But wait, running sports in Olympics has another form i.e. walking. In this, athletes cannot run and they have to keep one of their feet grounded at all times – failing to do so results in qualification. The range for walking is from 20KM to 50KM, with the average time exceeding 1 hour. There is water available to drink at every 2.5KM break but with walking lasting over an hour and maximum to 50KM – it’s hard to imagine a human being apart from extraordinary to achieve success in this sport. Physically exhausting to say the least but a sport that is to be followed for those who can’t get enough of racing in 5 minutes.
Handball
I missed most of the Olympics, but I did learn that Handball is a sport and that Denmark won! pic.twitter.com/WlWnraMl8t
— Alex Teplitzky (@alexteplitzky) August 23, 2016
Take football (without foot) and basketball (without basket) and voila – you’ve the sport of handball. Handball is a sport wherein the players play with their hands but do not aim to basket but instead put the ball into a football net – thus widening the chances of scoring as opposed to basketball, which from outside looks to be harder. Handball is not only fun to watch but it is quick and never too shy of action – first became part of Olympics in 1936.
