The great thing about sports dramas is that you don’t need to like or even understand sport to enjoy them. Everyone appreciates what it’s like to overcome challenges, the feeling of winning when you feel as if the world’s against you, and the exhilaration of that triumphant moment. And that’s what the best sports dramas give us.

Take Sanctuary, the new Netflix drama set in the world of sumo wrestling. This isn’t a sport with much recognition outside Japan and, apart from a few documentaries, it’s barely been seen on TV screens here. But everyone can still enjoy the story of Saruzakura (Wataru Ichinose), who leaves behind a background of poverty and violence to rise through the sumo ranks.

Here’s a look at this rousing series, which is available in Apps & Games > Netflix from Thursday 4 May.

Saruzakura joins the sumo stable initially because the sport pays well and is a way out of his unpleasant situation. Yep, he’s that classic underdog type – a scrappy kid from the wrong side of the tracks! But when he finds success under the fighting name Enno, it’s with unorthodox tactics and a brash approach, which the staid and highly traditional sumo world is not ready to accept. Good news! More challenges for the underdog to overcome.

Over eight episodes, Saruzakura goes from – yes! – rags to riches, with scenes of sporting success that would inspire anyone. And there are plenty more of those that you can enjoy right now, from much-loved favourites that will always reward another watch to some lesser-known sporting underdogs. Get ready to punch the air…

Cobra Kai

Find seasons 1-5 in Apps & Games > Netflix

In the original Karate Kid movies, Daniel (Ralph Macchio) was the underdog fighting against the arrogant thugs from the established dojo, including Johnny (William Zabka). In this follow-up series, the roles are reversed: down-on-his-luck Johnny uses his martial arts skills to defend a neighbour, then battles to reopen Cobra Kai, reconnect with his past and his son, and offer hope to disaffected local kids in the form of the legendary All-Valley Karate Tournament.    

Scrappy Kid From The Wrong Side Of The Tracks Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ragtag Group Of Misfits Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Creed

Find it in Apps & Games > Prime Video

When Adonis “Donnie” Johnson (Michael B Jordan, Black Panther) decides he wants to follow in the footsteps of his father, boxing champion Apollo Creed, he turns to Apollo’s old rival: the original underdog, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). Now suffering the physical effects of his career in the ring, Rocky is reluctant to train the younger man. Will the former underdog champ help create a new underdog champ?

Scrappy Kid From The Wrong Side Of The Tracks Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ragtag Group Of Misfits Rating: ⭐⭐

A League Of Their Own

Find season 1 in Apps & Games > Prime Video

Carson (Abbi Jacobsen, Broad City) is a farmer’s wife who’s always longed to play baseball, and a new wartime women’s league gives her the chance. She joins the Rockford Peaches, who are hopeless under their indifferent coach; after he splits it’s down to Carson to end the team’s bickering and get them winning.

Meanwhile, talented Black pitcher Maxine “Max” Chapman (Chanté Adams, Roxanne Roxanne) finds that prejudice keeps her off every team she tries out for. And the women’s unorthodox – for the 1940s – sexuality puts even more barriers in their path. It’s an underdog bonanza!

Scrappy Kid From The Wrong Side Of The Tracks Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ragtag Group Of Misfits Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Spinning Out

Find season 1 in Apps & Games > Netflix

When we meet our underdog hero Kat (Kaya Scodelario, The Maze Runner), she has suffered a devastating injury and is considering giving up her figure-skating dreams. But when Justin (Evan Roderick, Arrow) offers her a way back as his partner, she knows she has to fight – both to succeed and to keep her family’s secret. Kat faces a struggle to maintain her physical and mental health long enough for the pair to make it to the Olympics.

Scrappy Kid From The Wrong Side Of The Tracks Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ragtag Group Of Misfits Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Amateur

Find it in Apps & Games > Netflix

Michael Rainey Jr (Power Book II: Ghost) is Terron Forte, a young basketball prodigy from a low-income family who’s scouted and recruited by a prestigious private school. Terron thinks he’s on a path to an exciting and lucrative career. His bullying team-mates have other ideas – and while his talent might get him past them, his eyes are soon opened to the exploitation that’s rife in US college and amateur sports. Can he rise to the challenge and nail every last-second three-pointer he tries?

Scrappy Kid From The Wrong Side Of The Tracks Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ragtag Group Of Misfits Rating: ⭐

GLOW

Find seasons 1-3 in Apps & Games > Netflix

The Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling promotion, a real TV phenomenon in the 1980s, provides the backdrop for this fictional story about feuding former besties Ruth (Alison Brie, Promising Young Woman) and Debbie (Betty Gilpin, Nurse Jackie).

Somehow they end up leading a wildly diverse group of female wrestlers – including stuntwoman Cherry, born-and-bred grappler Carmen, free-spirited Rhonda, proud mother Tammé, and Sheila, who is apparently part wolf – to ratings success and personal fulfilment, via hard training, camaraderie and some frankly amazing costumes.

Scrappy Kid From The Wrong Side Of The Tracks Rating: ⭐⭐

Ragtag Group Of Misfits Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bend It Like Beckham

Find it in Apps & Games > Prime Video

While Jess (Parminder Nagra, Maternal) lives in a neat suburban semi-detached that’s not on the wrong side of the tracks, for her purposes it might as well be. All she wants to do is play football, but for her traditionalist parents, that’s a non-starter. Will she sneak out of the house to join new buddy Jules (Keira Knightley, Misbehaviour) and the rest of the Hounslow Harriers team? You bet she will, and she’ll keep doing it until the US college scouts notice her in this beloved feel-good British film.

Scrappy Kid From The Wrong Side Of The Tracks Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Ragtag Group Of Misfits Rating: ⭐⭐

When is Sanctuary on Netflix?

You can watch all eight episodes of the first season of Sanctuary in Apps & Games > Netflix from Thursday 4 May.