India’s Rural Olympics
If you thought some of the events in the London 2012 Olympic Games looked gruelling then think again. These pictures show competitors taking part in India’s Rural Olympics. And the sports are not for the fainthearted.
Games include being run over by farm machinery, bullock chariot racing, horseback acrobatics and other demonstrations of strength.
Formally known as the Kila Raipur Sports Festival, competitors range in age from teenagers to pensioners.
There is even a 100metre race for the over 80s.
Around a million people attend the annual sporting event which has now become an important part of India’s Punjab culture.
Spectators travel from all over the world to the village of Kila Raipur to attend the games which attracts more than 4,000 sportsmen and women every February.
The festival has become an international hit for its more unusual sports categories.
Categories include holding bicycles in teeth and pulling vehicles with hair.
Bullocks, camels, dogs and other animals also compete in their own events.