Olympic
Games is believed to have originated in the Ancient Greece around 776 BC. A
cook named Coroebus won a 192-meter footrace which is said to be the only game
that took place and he was the world’s first Olympic champion. The ancient
Olympic Games were held every four years during a religious festival honouring
Zeus. After the Roman Empire captured Greece, the roman emperors abandoned this
tradition of conducting Olympic Games under the guise of erasing pagan
traditions.
It
took nearly 1500 years for the games to resurface. Following the efforts of
“Father of modern day Olympic games “Baron de Coubertin, the game would rise
again from its ashes. The first modern day Olympics were conducted in Athens in
1896. The first Olympics featured games that were reserved only for the men.
280 Players from 13 countries participated in the 43 games in the first Modern day
Olympic Games. The official symbol of modern day Olympics is the five
interlocking colored rings, which represents the continents of North and South
America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. It is paraded during the opening
ceremony and at the closing ceremony; the flag is presented to the next host
city by the current host. Olympics now has become the have become the world’s
preeminent sporting competition and considered as the pinnacle of sporting
events. It is a stage for sportsmen across the world to prove their mettle on
an international stage. It is generally considered as the ultimate symbol of
athletic achievement. Apart from the exciting sporting events, they cultivate
harmony, camaraderie, and unity among players from different parts of the world.
India,
being the world’s second most populous country has won just 26 medals over the
span of 100 years. This includes 9 gold medals, 6 silver, and 11 bronze medals.
Considering the huge success of relatively smaller countries in the Olympics,
India’s track record appears dismal. This begs an important question – what is
the sport where Indians would excel?
13 Cards Indian Rummy Game
13 cards Indian Rummy is a popular
card-matching game played based on the draw and discard of cards. 13 cards
Indian rummy remains the most preferred rummy game because of its simple game
play. Classical Indian Rummy (or Paplu) is the Indian version of original rummy
with little variations. It could be considered a cross between Rummy 500 and
Gin rummy.
Unlike
other card games based on chance, Rummy requires a certain amount of skill
because the fall of the card has to be memorized and building up of Rummy
requires considerable skill in holding and discarding cards. In short, the players
need a clear-cut strategy in order to meld the hand cards into proper sets
& sequences. Knowledge of the game rules and sufficient practice are
imperative in a rummy game. The Supreme Court of India in the year 1968 ruled
that rummy card game is skill based game. “The game of rummy is not a game
entirely of chance like the ‘three-card’ game. The ‘three-card’ game, which
goes under different names such as ‘flush’, ‘brag’, etc is a game of pure
chance. Rummy, on the other hand, requires a certain amount of skill because
the fall of the card has to be memorized and there building up of Rummy
requires considerable skill in holding and discarding cards”. This decision has
been relied upon in the subsequent rulings by many courts. It must now be
evident that 13 cards Indian Rummy games are a skill based game where chance
plays virtually no role.
Rummy in Olympics?
Sports
can be defined an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and
often of competitive nature. Modern society has broadened the definition of
sports. Disregarding the sports that don’t involve sweating, bleeding and
palpitations is not the right way considering the impact mind sports has made
so far. International Olympic Committee included chess and bridge in its list
of recognized sports. These sports were brought under the tag of mind sports
and could make its way into Olympic Games shortly. In fact, Chess and Bridge
along with 26 other sports have applied for inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Games
in Tokyo. Though the chances of it getting into the main list are grim as of
now, we do believe it will find its way in the future. “Mind sports” is a
relatively new term for sporting activities, such as chess and bridge that rely
on mental skills. Shouldn’t 13 cards Indian rummy be a part of Mind sports as
it heavily relies on mental skills?
There
have been a lot of calls from online
rummy site operators all over India vouching for the game to be recognized
as a Mind sport. International Mind Sports Association has been conducting
World Mind Sports Games (WMSG), a quadrennial multi-sport event from the year
2008. The following sports were included in the first two editions: Chess,
Bridge, go (weiqi), draughts (checkers), and Xiangqi. Our contention is that
rummy game should be a part of WMSG first as it comes under mind sports. As of
now, applying for a place in Olympics seems to be a far-fetched idea since
there are many other games ahead of 13 cards Indian Rummy vouching to be
included. The immediate priority must be to get the game recognized as a mind
sport and apply for an entry into WMSG. A place in WMSG would be a good start
for the game to gain international popularity. As the sport gains traction and
goes into mainstream worldwide, we can push for a slot in Olympic Games. Given
the ever-growing audience, the inclusion of skill based games like the rummy game would make Olympics, an even
more enthralling watch.
