Odd Sports at Asian Games

DanceSport

Debut: 2010 Guangzhou

DanceSport is generally defined as partner dancing, with the man and woman using the required technique together with floor-craft and artistic interpretation to produce a highly disciplined dance performance.

Kabaddi

Debut: 1990 Beijing

Kabaddi was probably invented to ward off group attacks in ancient times. It is basically a combative sport, with seven players on each side and played in two 20-minute halves. The core idea is to score points by raiding the opponent's court and touching as many of its players as possible without getting caught on a single attempt.

Dragon Boat Racing

Debut: 2010 Guangzhou

The history of dragon boat racing goes back more than 2,200 years. It emerged as an international sport in 1976. For competition events, dragon boats are generally rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails.

Sepak Takraw

Debut: 1990 Beijing

It is generally believed that sepak takraw was played as early as the ninth century. It is played on a court with a hand-woven ball (takraw) by teams made up of two or three people. Points are scored by hitting the ball above the net and into the court as the opposing players attempt to block. Players can use their feet, legs, shoulders and heads but not their hands.

Roller Sports

Debut: 2010 Guangzhou

Roller sports developed from ice-skating. In 1863, New Yorker James Plimpton solved the problem of controlling skates when he used a rubber cushion to anchor the axles. From then on, roller sports have spread all over the world.

(Source: Xinhua News Agency)

(Miao Xiaoyang contributed reporting in Guangzhou)