Discontinued Sports in Olympics

The Olympics had lots of games, which are no longer included in today's Olympics. The games, which were once a part of the Olympics, are golf, polo, rugby, tug-of-war, cricket, croquet, jeu de paume, power boating, rackets, rink-hockey, lacrosse, basque pelote, roque, and water skiing.

Golf is one of the finest games in the world and is played in almost hundred countries of the world. It has been considered as an international game from the mid-19th century. Golf was held in the 1900 and 1904 Olympics. In the 1900 Olympics, there were separate games for men and women.

Polo is the oldest mounted sport, dating back to many centuries. It is believed to have originated in Asia especially in India, China and ancient Persia. Polo was part of the Olympic games in 1900, 1908, 1920, 1924 and 1936.

Two teams who use netted sticks to pass and catch the rubber ball in order to score play lacrosse.

Cricket is the second popular game in the world and it is supposed to have originated in the thirteenth century. Two teams consisting of eleven members who play it using a bat, ball and wicket play this game. The match is played on a flat and open grass long strip of field named as pitch. Stumps are three vertical wooden sticks placed parallel to each other, at both the ends of the pitch and two small wooden pieces are placed on top the three sticks. This structure is known as the wicket. The bowler, from the fielding team, aims a leather ball at one of the wickets. The batsman, from the opposing team, tries to hit the ball away from the wicket, with the help of a wooden bat. The other team members of the fielding team spread themselves on the field in order to catch the ball, which was hit by the batsman. If they are successful in catching the ball before it hits the ground, the batsman is out. In the meanwhile, after hitting the ball with the bat, the batsman runs from one wicket to another and the numbers of runs made are counted. The winning teams scores the maximum number of runs.

Croquet is a game of French origin. It utilizes a mallet and balls and is played in a grass arena. The mallet through hoops, which are planted in the field, hits the balls. It was part of the 1900 Summer Olympics. Roque is the American version of croquet. It was included in the 1904 United States Summer Olympics.

Initially tug-of-war was considered as a product of the track and field athletics program, but later it was given the status of a separate sport. Tug-of-war was included in the Olympic games of 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912, and 1920.

Jue de paume means game of palm and is the French version of lawn tennis. It is played without racquets, as the player hits the ball with his hands. Jue de paume was added in the 1908 Summer Olympics.

In Basque pelote, two opponents team face each other and there is a net between the two. Both the team exchange ball and if one player drops the ball, the other team scores. It is also similar to lawn tennis. It was supposed to have originated in the Greek era. In the 1900 Paris Olympic games, Basque pelote was a part of it.

Rugby is the earlier versions of football; here the ball is not carried but kicked. It originated in mid-19th century in Britain. The rugby union was considered to be beginner version where as rugby league was considered to be the professional version. In 1995, rugby union was made an open sport by the International Rugby Board. Rugby union was a part of the 1900, 1908, 1920 and 1924 Olympics games. Water skiing started in 1922. The athletes straps boards on their feet and get pulled by a powerboat around a set of course.