Water Polo in Olympic 2008 is going to get an altogether different dimension and the host nation is trying their level best in order to materialize their claim. In this context, it becomes important to know in brief about the origination of water polo.
Water polo started to develop in Europe and the United States as two separate genres of sports. In the United States it was recognized among the players and its admirerares as softball water polo. The ball they used for the game used to have an unfilled bladder. In comparison to the modern form of this game, it was quite rough and often frequent fights were witnessed. In 1897, Harold Reeder of New York improvised the first American rules for this discipline of sports. The main purposes of these rules were to aim at decreasing the excessive roughness of the game. The game is called water polo because players used to ride on floating barrels. In the US style these barrels were essential equipments for this game and resembled mock horses. Players with the barrels used to swing at the ball with mallet-like sticks, similar to those used in equestrian polo. But it is the European style of water polo which is predominating and today it is the form of the game which is practiced and acknowledged universally. It is more scientific, faster and less dangerous than the original American game. The current game consists of seven-man teams playing four seven-minute periods.
The water polo for men in the Olympics was for the first time played in the Paris Olympic, 1900. It is the Hungarians who have been most successful in the history of this game in Olympic. The Olympic debut for the women water polo happened in Sydney Olympic, 2000. The Australian team startled the whole world by winning the gold medal for on the landmark event.
Venue for Water Polo in Olympic 2008:
All the water polo matches, both for men and women, in Olympic 2008 will be held at Ying Tung Natatorium.
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