Did you know the first international polo competition took place in 1886? The equestrian sport precedes basketball, and even Formula One. However, it started out as a game of the royals and nobles – and is even often referred to as “the sport of kings”. Speed, cars & balls!
Polo is the oldest equestrian sport, history traces its beginning back to around 6th century. At that time, it was mainly an activity for royalty and other members of the elite. It was also a somewhat military endeavour as it was often considered a miniature battle to those who invented the sport. The invention of polo is attributed to Persians (now Iran).
The game later spread to other regions of the world. The British were the first Europeans to play polo. They had several informal matches with Indians who had been playing the game long before them. James Gordon Bennett, a sportsman and newspaper publisher, introduced the game to the United States in 1876. 10 years later, the United States challenged Britain to the first international polo competition for the Westchester Cup. The British emerged as the winners.
Dogs may be man’s best friend, but in polo, horses win this title. Hence, the rules of polo are written to protect both players and their horses. The sport is played by humans mounted on horses, with two teams of four players each hitting a small ball with mallets trying to score off opponent’s goal post. A single game lasts one to two hours.
The games are divided into periods called chukkas. There is a four-minute interval between chukkas; players often use this time to change horses.
There is also an elongated ten minutes half-time break.
Today, over fifty countries play international polo. Britain, USA, and Argentina first come to mind when one talks about the champions in the game. Other countries that are in polo’s limelight include China, South African, Chile, Australia and New Zealand. In Africa, Nigeria engages in the polo through tournaments such as the annual Lagos International Polo Tournament, the Ibadan Polo Tournament and the Port-Harcourt Polo Tournament.
Want to see a beautiful allegiance between humans and other animals? Watch a polo game today.
Now, it is time to talk about engines, tyres, speed and brake.
Would you be shocked if the name had not always been Formula One? Well, there isn’t much to be shocked about because the previous names were similar. It was first known as the World Drivers’ Championship. Then in 1946, prior to the 1950 inaugural F1 World Championship, it was considered that it should be called Formula Internationale; some had also suggested the name Formula A. The word “formula” stands for a set of rules to which all players’ cars must adhere to.
Formula One events and other activities are within the purview of an international organisation Federation Internationale de I’Automobile (FIA). The organisation reviews specifications for allowed cars and schedules a calendar for seasons. A Formula One season consists of a set of races called Grands Prix. The most inherent features of cars in Formula One is that they are open-wheel single-seater cars. The standard weight of the cars is also regularised. For example, come 2021, a new specification for the minimum weight of cars will be implemented. The current minimum weight is 746kg. But next year, it will be increased to 749kg as revealed by RaceFans. There are expectations of the weight increasing again in 2022 to possibly as much as 778kg. The primary reason for this is to put in place larger impact-absorbing structures when cars crash.
The FIA authorised a series of races for the year 2020. Although some have been cancelled because of the pandemic, some were just postponed till when it will be safe to hold large gatherings. The games expected to come up this year are:
- Bahrain Grand Prix, initially slated for March 20-22.
- Vietnamese Grand Prix, initially slated for April 3-5.
- Chinese Grand Prix, initially slated for April 17-19.
- Dutch Grand Prix, initially slated for May 1-3.
- Spanish Grand Prix, initially slated for May 8-10.
- Azerbaijan Grand Prix, to come up on June 5-7.
- Canadian Grand Prix, to come up on June 12-14.
- Belgian Grand Prix, to come up on August 28-30.
All these are still under speculation. Whether the events will finally take place or not depends on how the pandemic situation has been managed in the several countries where the races are scheduled.
Football seems to be the most popular sport. Going by the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 79 countries participated in the competition. In most cases, it is a sport that needs no introduction.
Several categories for football events exist. Some deal with intra-nation competitions, others with international competitions within a continent or just worldwide participation and there are those that focus on leagues.
While football competitions between nations often have an interval of several years between them, league focused competitions take place all year long. The most popular football leagues are the English Premier League (EPL), Bundesliga, La liga, Ligue 1, Serie A, Eredivisie, Turkish League and Scottish Premier Leagues.
Several football tournaments happen worldwide. However, a number of them have been observed to thrill football audiences more. In an article released by Bleacher Report, a sport-focused news outlet; ten tournaments are ranked from least thrilling to most thrilling based on their global reputation and sporting challenge. They are Copa del Rey, Confederations Cup, Fa Cup, African Cup of Nations, UEFA Europa League, Copa Libertadores, Copa America, UEFA European Championship, UEFA Champions League, and FIFA World Cup.
So, if you did not know which competition would get your adrenaline high, now you do.
