India is a country where sports are more than entertainment, bringing everyone together and giving joy in difficult times. Several popular sports like kabaddi, chess, ho-ho, polo, etc. have originated in India. The national sport of India is hockey, though nowadays it is not as popular as cricket and football, it used to be the most popular and loved sport in India.
Sports are an integral part of Indian society and Indian culture. In ancient India, sports were seen as a pastime to entertain the maharajas or kings and their people after long and fierce battles or to celebrate victories. Here is a list of the 5 most popular sports in India.
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Table of Contents
Kabaddi
Kabaddi is a traditional sport in India; it has recently gained national attention and taken centre stage in Indian Sports. This is mainly due to the introduction of the Pro Kabaddi League, and it is the second most popular sports league in India after the IPL. PKL is a franchise-based competition that has the rules of a closed version of Kabaddi.
Kabaddi has recently gained recognition as a competitive sport and is part of the Asian Games. The PKL and the Kabaddi World Cup are the most anticipated competitions in the sport. India has dominated the sport from the beginning and this is also one of the main reasons for its popularity in our country. Iran is India’s closest rival in Kabaddi. India has won all the world kabaddi championships held so far.
Hockey
Hockey is India’s national sport; In recent years, its popularity has declined due to the rise of cricket and other sports. Players like Dhyan Chand and Balbir Singh Sr. are the reason behind the flourishing of the sport and the recognition of India as a great hockey nation.
Dhyan Chand is undoubtedly the greatest hockey player of all time, Adolf Hitler himself praised Dhyan Chand’s magical ball control and skills when he played in Germany. It is said that the world was at his feet whenever he took to the field. He was the greatest ambassador for the sport as well as India.
In the golden years of Indian hockey, India brought home 8 Olympic gold medals in badminton, the most of any country in the sport. Like every popular sport in India, hockey too has its own league – the Hockey League of India (HIL), which was founded in 2013. This league is based on the IPL model.
In India, the sport’s national success and popularity began to wane after changes in Olympic rules and disagreements between hockey federations in India.
Badminton
Badminton is the third most popular sport in India. India has recently achieved success at the international level. The most promising and budding players are Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu, who are the standard bearers of the sport in India. These two women have revolutionised the sport and brought a reputation to the sport.
Saina was ranked 2nd in the World Badminton Federation rankings in December 2010 and then won a bronze medal at the London Olympics in 2012. This feat was topped by PV Sindhu when she won the silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games and later won the gold medal at the World Championships in Basel.
Indian badminton first gained international recognition when badminton legends Prakash Padukon and then Pullela Gopichand won the All England Open in 1980 and 2001 respectively.
Seeing the growth of Indian talent on the international stage, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) spearheaded the creation of the Badminton Premier League in 2013. The league has attracted a fair number of spectators due to its dynamic format and the participation of top-ranked Indian players.
Football
Football or football is the second most popular sport in India after cricket. Oddly enough, this sport is watched more in India than played. The Indian football team has not achieved much success at the international level and the team ranks 108th in the world in the FIFA rankings, never qualifying for the FIFA World Cup.
The popularity of the sport is mainly due to the huge number of European football fans in India, and the Premier League is one of the most popular sports leagues in India.
Cricket
As for the obsession with the sport, India’s love for cricket has always been compared to Argentina and Brazil’s passion for football. But the number of cricket fans in India is simply impeccable, one of the reasons could be India’s success and competitiveness in the game.
India has always been among the best teams in the sport, winning the inaugural ICC World T20, the 2011 ICC World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. India is currently ranked 1st in the ICC Test rankings and 2nd in the ICC ODI rankings.
Over the years, India has produced some phenomenal cricketers who have raised the bar globally. The greatest cricketer and some say he is the “God of cricket”, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is one of the best players in India. He has dominated and set records throughout his 24-year career. He has scored 100 points in his career and is also the highest-scoring player in the history of the game.
Other world-class players who have also promoted the sport in India are Sunil Gavaskar, Anil Kamble, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, M.S. Dhoni and many others. Currently, it is Indian skipper Virat Kohli who is the poster boy of Indian cricket, he is a man with a mission, chasing and breaking all records.
The governing body of cricket in India is the BCCI and it is the richest in the world as they mainly fund the ICC. The BCCI organises and oversees all first-class and international cricket matches in India as well as the famous Indian Premier League. The IPL is one of the most celebrated cricket leagues every year, cricket also has more TV rights and coverage than any other sport in India, which tells us why it is the most popular sport in India.
