Письмо зарубежному другу о национальных (бурятских) спортивных играх

March 14, 2012.

My dear friend,

Last summer, when we rested at the seaside together, you asked me to tell you about our national sports.

Well, I can say that Buryatia is a sporting republic. Many people are very good at various games and kinds of sports: boxing, football, table tennis, basketball, volleyball, chess, swimming, track-and-field athletics and gymnastics.

Buryatia is famous for its national sports, such as: horseracing, archery and Buryat wrestling.

Do you know that the Buryat horse was the first mentioned in the 17th century as short, stocky and tough? It’s well adapted to the climate.

Horse racing in our republic is very popular especially at Surharbaan, the national summer holiday. The riders are registered and each is issued a number. The participants compete in distances of 3 or 4 km.

Another popular national sport is archery. Needless to say, it’s a very old sport. The arrow was considered to be a talisman or a charm. For a shooting range, a flat place was selected and ditched were dug. The winner was the archer who knocked out most of targets. The string is caught with the thumb and drawn as close as possible to the shoulder.

And the third national sport is Buryat wrestling. It has no weight categories and the meet has no time limits. The wrestler must not fear his opponent. During the wrestling match the one who touches the ground with a knee, elbow or finger or back or any third point of the body is considered defeated and loses the match. It’s very interesting to watch this show.

These three kind of sport games are usually called the “Three Many Games”.

You can visit us thus summer and watch our Surharbaan yourself.

Well, my dear, now I want to ask you to tell me about your national sports. And what is your favourite sport game?

With the best wishes,

Your Seseg.