A Serious Sport
To outsiders, Buzkashi might seem violent and strange.
Polo
involves teams of riders
on horseback who use
mallets
to try and hit a small ball into a
goal.
Popular in England and India, polo has long been a game
for kings, princes, and wealthy people to play at
country clubs. A Central Asian sport called Buzkashi often gets compared
to polo, but ___1___, it is very different. In Buzkashi,
skilled riders
gallop
around in a field and try to grab
the body of a beheaded calf or goat.
The aim is to get the carcass away from
other players and take it across a
goal line.
This
rough sport is extremely
popular in Afghanistan, ___2___ training for the
competition begins at a very young age. Most
people aren't
considered masters ___3___
they are over the age of 40. While
competing on the field,
players can use different
tactics to
try and get a(n) ___4___ over the others. These can
___5___
the violent use of force like hitting, kicking, or even
whipping. The only thing not
___6___ in Buzkashi is
tripping another rider's
horse because this could cause serious injuries to the
riders or horses. The day before a Buzkashi game, a calf
is slaughtered and put in water
so that it won't ___7___
easily during the game. The sport may seem
grisly to outsiders, but in
countries like Afghanistan, a winner of a Buzkashi game
is celebrated as a grand champion.
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