Dandi Biyo is a very simple game, and is equally dangerous. Some say it is the National Game of Nepal. But, there is no documentary evidence to prove it (at least, I don’t know. If you have more information please comment.)
I am not against this sports being a National game. But, before a decision is made, there should be certain prerequisite of sportsmanship and safety of players and spectators. To illustrate my point let’s analyze the following photo:
In the photo above CPN-UML leader KP Sharma Oli is seen inaugurating Dharan Sports Tourism Festival, by playing Dandibiyo in Dharan on April 27‚ 2011.
Before the ‘sport’ considered a sport, let alone a ‘National Sport’, there has be a standard for everything that is used in the sport. These standards are required so that the competitions are fair and the result of one game can be compared to another. A slight variation on the length of dandi or biyo can have a very different result.
Some points to be noted:
- A sports need to have standard playing gears. The dandi KP is using to play the game is a simple piece of wood. If it were to be a sport, that piece of wood should be standardized in terms of the type of wood, length, diameter and grip friction.
- Same applies to the biyo piece. Length, diameter, tapering angle and so on should be standard.