India has a great tradition of sports, and is greatly influenced by the British presence in India in the 18th and 19th century. Cricket is undoubtedly the most popular sport, but in such a large and populous country, there are many other sports that are played by a lot of people.

camel racing in India Camel race in Bikaner India, 1999

India is also where some of the oldest forms of martial arts originated like musti yuddha, kalerippayattu, silambam as well as marma adi.

India also have a few board games, and the most popular one is the chaturanga, believed to be the origin of modern chess. This is further reinforced with the rise of a number of chess grandmasters from the country.

India is one of the largest country in the world in both area and population. It is also one of the few countries that have retained the popularity of their indigenous games among its people. Such traditional games include pehlwani, kabaddi, silambam, yoga, thayam, aadu puli aatam, parama padam, carrom, kho kho, gili danda, ettu kodu, langdi, lagori, ainthu kallu, pallanguzhi, and malyutam.

However, modern games have also taken over the Indian scene, with cricket being the most popular. India has also hosted several sporting events such as the Asian Games (1951 and 1982), Cricket World Cup (1987, 1996 and 2011), Hockey World Cup and the Commonwealth Games (2010).

India has also been part of the Olympic Games since 1900 and won an Olympic medal right off the bat when Norma Pritchard took two silver medals in athletics when in the 200-meter dash and the 200 meters hurdles. They skipped a few Games and returned in 1920 and have been sending athletes ever since.

Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to India.

Popular sports of India (see more)

Traditional or Regional Sports of India

  • Ball Badminton — a racket game native to India, played with a yellow ball made of wool, with similarities to Badminton.
  • Kho-Kho — the team that takes lesser time to tag all the opponent players wins the game.
  • Kabaddi — a "raider" enters the opposite team's half to tag opponents without taking a breath.
  • Lagori — from Southern India, this game involves a ball and a pile of flat stones. A member of one team throws a soft ball at a pile of stones to knock them over, then try to restore the pile of stones while the opposing team throws the ball at them (also called Pittu).
  • Yubi Lakpi — a seven-a-side traditional football game with similarities to rugby played in Manipur, India, using a coconut.
  • Mallakhamba — a traditional Indian sport, where athletes perform various types of gymnastics moves and hold various poses on a vertical wooden pole or a rope.
  • Rollball — like handball on roller skates, players must bounce the ball while moving and score goals by shooting the ball into the opposing team's goal.
  • Throwball — a sport very similar to Newcomb Ball (a variation of Volleyball) that is played in India.
  • Pehlwani — a form of wrestling from South Asia. A win is achieved by pinning the opponent's shoulders and hips to the ground simultaneously.
  • Kalaripayattu — an ancient martial art from Kerala, India.
  • Silambam — a traditional Tamil martial art from India which mainly uses a bamboo staff.
  • Gilli-Danda — a South Asian game played with two sticks, one long and the other short.
  • Inbuan — a form of wrestling native to the people of Mizoram in India, in which the aim is to lift the opponent's legs off the ground.
  • Nadan Panthu Kali — ball and net sport played in the Kerala region.
Traditional Inidan sport, being played in Varanassi, India, in 1999 Traditional Indian sport, being played on the Ghats of Varanasi, India, in 1999

India Sporting Success

  • India won the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1983 and 2011.
  • Winner 2007 T20 World Cup
  • ICC Champions Trophy winner - 2002, 2013
  • India won 1 silver and 5 bronze medals at the Paris Olympics 2024
  • India won 1 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
  • India won 1 silver and 1 bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics
  • India won 2 silver and 4 bronze medals at the London 2012 Olympics
  • India won 1 gold and 1 bronze medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics
  • India won the Women's Cricket World Cup in 2025
  • India won the Men's Hockey World Cup in 1975

Great athletes from India

  • Sachin Tendulkar (cricket)
  • Virat Kohli (cricket)
  • Major Dhyan Chand (hockey)
  • Anju Bobby George (athletics - long jump)
  • Jyotirmoyee Sikdar (athletics - 800m)
  • Milkha Singh
  • Norman Pritchard
  • P. T. Usha
  • T. C. Yohannan
  • Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati (tennis)
  • Neeraj Chopra (javelin) - the first track & field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics
  • Mary Kom (boxing) - one of the greatest female boxers of all time
  • PV Sindhu (badminton) - she is the first female Indian badminton player to win the Olympic silver medal

India Sports trivia

  • 1997 Federation Cup Semi Final between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan holds the record for the largest audience in Indian football. The match played on the 13th July 1997 at Salt Lake Stadium drew 134,000 spectators. This is a record attendance for any sport in India.
  • The sport of Badminton (probably) originated in India.

India at major events

indian cricket players Cricket is the most popular sport in India

Past sporting events hosted in India

Upcoming sporting events in India

Annual sporting events held in India

  • Indian Premier League (IPL) — 20/20 Cricket tournament.
  • Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) - This is the annual professional kabaddi league in India.
  • Hockey India League (HIL) - This is an annual professional hockey league in India.
  • Indian Super League (ISL) - This event is held annually in India. 
  • Indian Badminton League (IBL) - This is an annual professional badminton league in India. 
  • Indian Open Grand Prix Gold - This is an annual badminton tournament held in India.

Sporting Facilities in India

Other

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