Sport

Beginning the 20th century modem types of sport started to develop in Mongolia . The Mongolian Sports Committee was founded in 1947.

The 1950s witnessed the appearance of voluntary sports clubs and associations, including four major clubs Soyol (Culture), Khudulmur (Labor), Barilgachin (Builder) and Khorshoolol (Cooperative). These organizations played a tangible role in promoting sport as a mass movement. Nowadays, track and field sports, football, basketball, volleyball, skating, skiing, motorcycle racing, mountain climbing, chess and other sports are gaining wide popularity in Mongolia .

Mongolian National Olympic Committee (MNOC) was created on February 26, 1956 . MNOC became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 1962.

Mongolian athletes have participated in 9 editions of the Summer Olympic Games and have won 14 medals, including 5 silver and 9 bronze medals. In general, Mongolia , a country with a rather small population, has gained 743 gold, 770 silver and 1025 bronze medals in many international competitions, 70 percent of which are gained by wrestlers.

J. Munkhbat won the first silver medal/free-style Wrestling -87 kg! at Mexico Olympic Games in 1968.

Sh.Magvan, former President of Mongolian National Olympic Committee, is elected as IOC Member in Mongolia , since 1977.

Many Mongolian young talented athletes compete successfully in such kinds of professional sports as sumo and boxing.

Mongolian sumo wrestler, Asashoryu D.Dagvadorj won the Grand Sumo Tournament in Japan and received the Grand Champion title in 2002. He won the Tournament third in May 2003. There are 31 Mongolian sumo wrestlers in professional sumo. Four of them are competing in a higher category.

There are about 1000 sport halls and about 30 stadiums nationwide.

The Mongolian National Olympic Committee has officially inaugurated its new building "Olympic House" in June 2002.

National sports wrestling, archery and horseracing are the Three Games of Men, rooted in the mists of antiquity and continue to be very popular among the Mongols today.

Wrestling is the national and most popular of all Mongol sports. It is the highlight of the Three Manly Games. Historians claim that Mongol-style wrestling originated some seven thousand years ago. Hundreds of wrestlers from different cities and aimags take part in the national wrestling competition.

There are no weight categories or age limits. Each wrestler has his own attendant herald. The aim of the sport is to knock one's opponent off balance and throw him down, making him touch the ground with his elbow and knee. The winners are honored with ancient titles: the winner of the fifth round gets an honorary title of nachin (falcon), of the seventh and eighth rounds zaan (elephant), and of the tenth and eleventh rounds arslan (lion). The wrestler who twice becomes the absolute champion is awarded the title of avarga (Titan). Every subsequent victory at the national Naadam-festival will add an epithet to his avarga title, like "Invincible Titan", "Invincible Titan to be remembered by all" etc.

Beginning in 2003, the Mongolian parliament adopted a new law on Naadam, making amendments to some of the wrestling titles. The titles of Garudi and Hartsaga (Hawk) were added to the existing above-mentioned titles.

Horseracing is an important part of Naadam. This sport is also dating back to the Bronze Age. The horses are selected a month before the big day. They are taken to the adequate pasture separate from the herd and trained. Horses are divided into five groups: 2, 4 and 5 years old, over five years old and stallions. The riders are aged from five to 12. Mongolian kids are excellent riders, for both girls and boys have been riding since infancy. As the popular saying goes, "The nomad is born in the saddle".

Competitions are not held on special racetracks, but right across the steppe, where riders are confronted with various obstacles like rivers, ravines and hills. The distance varies according to the ages of horses, between 15 and 35 km.

The winners do a full circuit of the stadium, each accompanied by a herald. The winning horse receives the honorary title "Forehead of Ten Thousand Race Horse" and the five runners-up are awarded with medals. Interestingly enough, the loser is also rewarded and honored.

Archery Ample information about archery can be found in literary and historical documents of the 13th century and even before. According to historians, archery contests began in the 11th century.

The Mongols use a compound bow, built up of layers of horn, sinew, bark and wood. When unstrung, it is not straight, but curved. All archers adopt _the same stance and posture. The target consists of a row several meters across, of small woven leather rings, some painted red, which are laid out laterally on the ground. The openings face upward, providing a challenging exercise in trajectory for the archers. The distance is about 75 meters for men and 60 for women; men shoot 40 arrows and must score not less than 15 points, women shoot 20 arrows to score at least 13 points using the same bow as the men. The one who scores the most points is the winner and the title of Mergen (Supermarksman) is bestowed on him or her.