On August 5, 2016, the top athletes around the world will be representing their countries in a worldwide competition rivaled by only the World Cup. Professional athletes have trained for four years for the opportunity to represent their country. While the majority of them did not qualify in their sport's Olympic trials, those select few will be heading to Rio De Janeiro in Brazil.
Sports fans around the world will be tuning in until August 21, cheering on their native countries and the die-hard will watch even the lesser known sports. For those who will be tuning in for a month of international sports, there are five of them that that are lesser known that you should tune into.
1. Water Polo
The United States starts Water Polo play on the 6th and will play against defending gold medalist Croatia on the 6th. They are in group B and will also play against Spain, France, Montenegro, and Italy. The United States finished 8th in the 2012 Olympics, but have the second highest medal count in the event, coming in at nine. Here's a video expaining the rules.
2. Rugby
For the first time since 1924, Rugby is back at the Olympics. Rugby Sevens will be the event as opposed to the 15-member Rugby Union. Sevens plays with seven players per team with two seven-minute halves. While the favorite are teams like Figi and New Zealand, the USA is the two-time defending champion. The rules of rugby are explained here.
3. Handball
No, not the penalty in soccer-- but a sport primarily played in Europe. The USA doesn't have a Handball team in the Olympics, but if you like a good rivalry, France and Croatia who have dominated for the last 20 years, are in the same group.
For those who do not know the rules of Handball, the following video will explain the rules.
4. Wrestling
After originally being excluded from the Olympics beginning in 2020, after the wrestling world fought back and it now will be here to stay for the long term, according to SB Nation. The rules are explained in this video. Favorite to gold medal is Jordan Burroughs of the USA at the 74-kg freestyle. He has an overall record of 124-2.
5. Field Hockey
Although Field Hockey is primarily played by women in the USA, there is a men's tournament in Rio as well. Germany won the men's tournament and the Netherland's won the women's tournament in London 2012. You can learn how to play by watching this video.
Most people will tune into sports like basketball, soccer, track and beach volleyball, but if you want to see how other sports are played, you could start with those five.
