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Hungary makes its mark at the World Nomad Games

The annual World Nomad Games is now challenging established western definitions of sport. As a result, it is interesting to note the strong Hungarian presence at these events. A pseudoscientific theory from the 19th century is now helping Budapest to pursue links with the East in more ways than one.

A group of men in ethnic garments stood in a row waiting for a sign to shoot, rays of early autumn sun falling on their sculpted shoulders. When the order came, they lifted their bows and shot at the shields in front of them, their arrows cutting through the air with unnatural speed. To the joy of his national team, the winner – a Hungarian called Làszlò Koczka – won the gold medal in traditional archery at 60 metres, a sweet victory here in Kazakhstan, a country famous for impeccable archers.

November 21, 2024 - Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska - Issue 6 2024MagazineStories and ideas

Istvan Mihok (left) and Jozsef Szabo (right), from Hungary's archery team, at the Nomad Games in Astana. Photo: Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska

Amid the mighty Kazakh steppe, surrounded by the endless horizon, in the capital Astana, a formidable spectacle took place, whose subtle politics could not go unnoticed. In early September, the World Nomad Games brought together athletes from all over the world, for the fifth time in a decade, with the aim to compete in disciplines that few in the West know or play. The ethnic sports Olympiad saw players compete in horseback archery and bird hunting, and teams of riders fight for a goat carcass in a game called “kok-boru”. The world of ethnic sport often surpasses the limits of any western definition.

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