Friday, July 30, 2010

Question 752

'X' is a traditional Central Asian team sport played on horseback in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The steppes' people were skilled riders who could grab a goat or calf from the ground while riding a horse at full gallop. The goal of a player is to grab the carcass of a headless goat or calf and then get it clear of the other players and pitch it across a goal line or into a target circle or vat.
It is portrayed in several books, both fiction and nonfiction. It is shown in Steve Berry's new book, The Venetian Betrayal, and is briefly mentioned in the Khaled Hosseini book The Kite Runner. 'X' was the subject of a book called Horsemen of Afghanistan by French photojournalists Roland and Sabrina Michaud. The game was a prominent part of the film 'Les Cavaliers' featuring Omar Sharif. Also in Rambo III Directed by Peter MacDonald, released in 1988, John Rambo played by Sylvester Stallone was shown in a sequence playing 'X' with his mujahideen friends when suddenly they were attacked by Russians. X?

Answer: Buzkashi