29above Spectators at the annual
wrestling matches during the
opening ceremony of Naadam
in Ulaanbaatar
right Mongolian soldiers take
part in the opening ceremony
Unlike international wrestling, they fight
with no time limit and no weight categories,
leaving many matches rather awkward, with
one opponent far outweighing the otherof Genghis Khan, when he united the
tribes to create one of the largest and
fiercest empires in history. Today, his
portrait is still presented at the games;
even though the heyday of the empire
is long gone – with Mongolia’s power
just a shadow of what it once was –
many still revere their Great Khan.
In the capital, the opening ceremony
of the Naadam competition feels like
travelling back in time: Soldiers are
dressed in replicas of ancient armour,
and circle the National Stadium both
on foot and on horseback. They hold
spears and bows and arrows and salute
the thousands of spectators as if they
were playing in a Mongolian version of
Ben-Hur. Drums and trumpets create
an epic atmosphere while the women
perform traditional songs and dances.
However, in a nod to modernity,
Naadam is no longer reserved for men:There are also female competitions
in archery and horse racing, although
not in wrestling.
The most impressive photos belong
to the moment that all the Mongolian
wrestlers gather together in front
of a wildly cheering audience. Both
children and adults descend on the
capital from all the corners of the
country to display their strength and
agility. Unlike international wrestling,
they fight with no time limit and no
weight categories, leaving many
matches rather awkward, with one
opponent far outweighing the other.
And yet, victory does not always
belong to the heaviest competitor.
Sometimes, a sudden fast move^
can yield awesome results in just
a matter of seconds; the one who
touches the ground with something
other than their hands and feet loses.