Assam the mystic land with plentiful Temples, Mosques, Monasteries and Gurudwaras has been known traditionally as a land full of games and sports since the time of the Ahom kingdom. Traditional structures like the Rang ghar which dates back to 1746 AD, were built for the purpose of amusement entertaining and sporting activities. During Rongali Bihu, the greatest festival of Assam, Rang Ghar used to be the royal sports pavilion, from which the Ahom kings and nobles witnessed games in the Rupahi Pathar. The Rupahi Pathar is a vast field, where various activities like bull fighting and other such traditional games used to be organized for the amusement of the Ahom royalty who ruled Assam for more than 600 Years.
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Assam is also known for its rich culture and heritage and is surrounded by tropical rainforests, bamboo trees, and deciduous forests and is home to a variety of unique animals and ecosystems. This avails a perfect environment for the promotion for games and sports.
During Bihu, it is always a festival like atmosphere in nooks and corners of Assam. Energetic crowd cheers at enraged buffaloes locking horns in the arena – a harvest time sport tradition dating back to centuries. People young and old turn up to witness these bulls fighting in their best attires. The bets are not high and this game is played purely for the entertainment. For the villagers, buffalo fights are an entertaining sport organised during Bhogali Bihu, the weeklong Assamese harvest festival where traditional games accompanied by feasting mark the celebrations.
Bull fighting is a popular sport in Assam.
Assamese love their sports and Games and have kept alive various forms of traditional sports like the buffalo fight, cock fight, egg fight and so on. Another important traditional sport of Assam is the bulbuli (nightingale) fight which is held annually. An ancient game known as the Dhopkel is the most popular indigenous game in the state of Assam. It is as old as the state of Assam and the game requires absolute physical fitness – speed, stamina and acrobatic skills.
Assam has emerged as a major sports power in India and had emerged as a leading team in the recently concluded National games in Assam . Youths from the state are playing for leading Football clubs all over India . Cricket is also a very popular game and the state has a Ranji team which competes in the East Zone. Besides this the tribals of the state also play different kinds of games and sports during their festival periods.
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This is a part of a series of article on the Role Of North-East in Indian Sport. You can pursue the prequels by clicking below:
https://www.sportskeeda.com/2010/05/14/the-role-of-north-east-the-unique-sports-of-manipur/
https://www.sportskeeda.com/2010/05/07/india-football-the-role-of-north-east-part-ii-lajong-fc/
