Beach volleyball is among the most amazing sports played around the world. Though an artificial sport, it is matchless when it comes to sheer entertainment value, after all who doesn’t remember Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer in
Top Gun?
An all time favourite sport in the United States and South America, the game is fast catching on in the conservative bastions of Asia and perhaps that was the reason why it remained the most talked about sport of the 16th
Asian Games held in Guangzhou, attracting large crowds both day and night? However it’s ‘sheer’ element tended to overshadow the proceedings.
Recently it was widely reported in the media that the Yemeni team blamed the super s**y Chinese cheerleaders for losing an opening round in the tournament. The cheerleaders however, only ever paraded between breaks in play.
While airing his views, Adeeb Mahfoudh said: “I think they had something to do with our losing the match, these girls are very beautiful and they had an effect on how we played.” He was of the view that their Indonesian opponents
were rather focused as they did not allow the girls to affect their game.
The interesting aspect of the incident was the way local the English newspapers translated the views aired by Mahfoudh. One of them had written that the player’s point was rather “a tribute to the beauty, efficiency and modesty
of the Chinese female.”
In order to entertain the spectators, there are usually four squads of eight bikini-clad girls. Not surprisingly all of the cheer girls are of the same height and stature who have been selected from universities across the country.
What makes them so eye-catching, in all seriousness, is their flair for amusing the spectators and their unique routines.
Besides depicting the usual American style cheering, these cheer girls also perform routines which include traditional Chinese elements like fan dancing and Wushu (a local martial art).
The crowds enjoyed the performance of these girls immensely and perhaps that is the reason why the venues for sports like Beach Volleyball, Badminton, Table Tennis, Weightlifting and Football were nearly always packed.
The sport provided one of the more prominent feel good stories of the games. For instance, the team from the tiny nation of Timor Leste has never played the sport in bikinis. According to religious rules, the women were not given
permission to expose their bodies before the public. This means that the players had to practice while wearing trousers and long sleeved shirts. However, while playing the game in reality, this time they were in bikinis, surrounded by a large crowd as well
as being telecasted live around the globe. It was also perhaps the first time when their coach had seen them like that as well. The coach looked totally bewildered, knowing not where to look while addressing his team during huddles.
The result of the game was totally as expected, the team was thoroughly thrashed by the formidable Chinese. Of course the defeat was not a disappointment as the Timorese team barely has an international experience.
Regardless of the sports pragmatism or indecency, call it what you will or the Yemeni teams excuses, it remains a sure draw for the crowd tough whether or not their eyes are on the ball is another question entirely.
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