Thimphu - Sports

Sports

The Bhutan Olympic Committee was created in November 1983 with the King of Bhutan as its President, with its headquarters in Thimphu. Following this recognition, Bhutan participated for the first time in the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles when three men and three women archers represented Bhutan. For each Olympic Summer Games since 1984, Bhutan has fielded male and female archers. They have never competed in the Winter Games or the other events of the Summer Games; they also have never won an Olympic medal.

Archery (datse) is the national sport of Bhutan, which is played not only with traditional bows and arrows but also with modern archery techniques at the Changlimithang Sports and Archery Stadium in Thimphu. Archery is central to the cultural identity of the nation and as a result all tournaments are started with a ceremony. Women come to witness the sports in their colourful best attire and cheer their favorite teams. Men stand close to the target and taunt the players, if targets are missed. The targets are spaced at 140 m intervals. Teams which win the tournaments celebrate with their supporters by singing and performing a dance jig.

Since monks are not permitted to participate in archery they indulge in another popular sports called the daygo- a stone throwing sport, which involves throwing flat circular stone like a discus. Another shotput type game known as pungdo is popular and is also played with big and heavy stones. One more typical Bhutanese game is the dart game, known locally as Khuru, which is played with short targets. The darts used in the game are made of a wood block set with a nail with fins of chicken feather.

Many modern sports are also played in the national stadium in Thimphu, in addition to locally popular sports mentioned earlier. The sports activities in vogue are football (Drukstar is the popular team in Thimphu), basketball, golf, Kwon do (Bhutan earned a gold medal in this game in the South Asia Federation Games in 2004, squash, golf (popular among the elite middle class) and in recent years cricket. Thimphu has 12 cricket teams and two small golf courses; one near the India House and the other between the Tashichhoe Dzong and the National Library, known as the Royal Thimphu Golf Course (a nine hole course), established at the initiative of King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk in 1971.

Changlimithang Stadium

Changlimithang Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium in Thimphu, is the National Stadium. The stadium that was built in 1974 to celebrate the Coronation of the fourth Druk Gyalpo, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in 1974. It had a capacity to hold 10,000 spectators. However, it was completely refurbished in 2007 to accommodate 25,000 spectators for the Centenary of Wangchuk Dynasty rule in Bhutan and also the Coronation Celebrations of the fifth king of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, held on November 6, 2008. It now covers an area of about11 hectares (27 acres). This was also the location where national celebrations were held from the time of the 3rd King of Bhutan. Historicity of the Changlimithang ground is traced to the 1885 battle that established the political supremacy of Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck, Bhutan's first king. Adjacent to the main stadium are the football ground, the cricket field and archery range. Numerous archery tournaments are held here with both the imported compound bows and traditional bamboo bows. The main stadium is used for multipurpose sports and other functions. A documentary film known as "The Other Final" was filmed based on a special football match arranged by FIFA that was played between the 202nd placed (out of 203 worldwide) Bhutan and 203rd-ranked Montserrat.