Sport in India
has a history of sports dating back to the Vedic period, with Western sports having been imported during British rule. Cricket is the most popular sport in India, enjoyed across the country, but especially popular in the northern, western, and central regions. Football is the second most popular sport, with strong following in northeast, Jammu and Kashmir in the north and along the coastal belt in states like West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Goa. Kabaddi is the third most popular, followed by field hockey and badminton. Cricket, football and kabaddi have a fanbase of 612 million, 305 million and 208 million people, respectively. This means approx 42% of the population follows cricket, 21% follows football and 14% follows kabaddi.
Cricket generates the highest television viewership, with the Indian Premier League being the most-followed sports league in the country. India's national cricket teams are among the most successful in the world. The men's team has won two ODI World Cups, two T20 World Cups and three Champions Trophies. The women's team has also won the ODI World Cup and a silver at the Commonwealth Games.
Football enjoys some popularity, with the Indian Super League and Indian Women's League being the highest level of domestic football. The men's team has won many gold medals at the Asian Games and South Asian Games. India has also reached the fourth place of the 1956 Olympics, qualified for the 1950 World Cup, finished as runners-up in 1964 Asian Cup, won the 2008 Challenge Cup and won the SAFF Championship multiple times. The women’s team have been finalists in the 1980 and 1983 Asian Cup, secured third place in 1981, and won the SAFF Championship multiple times.
India has also had success in field hockey, with the men's team winning the World Cup in 1975. It is the nation's most successful sport at the Olympics, winning 13 medals, eight of which are gold. Other popular sports include kabaddi, badminton, tennis, athletics and kho-kho. Sports such as golf, rugby, wrestling, boxing, motorsport, and basketball are also enjoyed in the country.
India's diverse culture and people have influenced the wide variety of sports, with indigenous sports such as fighter kite and boat racing being popular in some regions. Other indigenous or India-originated sports include chess, kho-kho, polo, and snooker, with popularity varying by region. Water sports, like scuba diving, boating, surfing, and kiteboarding, frequently appear in coastal areas. Professional wrestling and mixed martial arts are popular among young audiences, with Indian wrestlers achieving international success. India has hosted the Men's and Women's Cricket World Cup many times. Although it is not considered a professional sport, cycling is a recreational activity and exercise in India.
Domestic professional commercial sports leagues in the country including Indian Premier League Women's Premier League, Indian Super League, I-League, Indian Women's League, Pro Kabbadi, Hockey India League, Premier Badminton League, Ultimate Table Tennis League, Premier Handball League, Prime Volleyball League and Ultimate Kho Kho. The major international sporting events that are annually organised in India include the Indian Open, India Open, and India Open. Since the launch of the Pro Kabaddi League, kabaddi has become one of India's fastest-growing sports. The sport has garnered substantial television viewership, contributing to its popularity and elevating its monetary value. Women's sports have also grown in India, with professional leagues including the Women's Premier League and Women's Kabaddi League.
India has hosted several international sporting events, including two editions of the Asian Games, three editions of the South Asian Games, the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and six men's and five women's cricket world championships. India has hosted four editions of the SAFF Championship, the SAFF Women's Championship in 2016, two editions of the AFC Women's Asian Cup in 1980 and 2022, and one junior FIFA World Cup world for each gender in football. India is set to host the 2026 T20 World Cup, 2030 Commonwealth Games, and the 2031 Cricket World Cup.
History
Ancient and medieval period
The world's oldest stadium with terraced stands was constructed in Dholavira, Gujarat, during the third millennium BCE. Two stadiums have been identified at the ancient site: one is considered a ceremonial ground, and the other a small stadium.Sports were evident during the Vedic era. Physical culture in ancient India was fuelled by religious rights. A well known mantra in the Atharvaveda says, "Duty is in my right hand and the fruits of victory in my left."
The modern game of badminton developed from an English children's game known as battledore and shuttlecock, a game that was most prominent in ancient India. The battledore was a paddle and the shuttlecock was a small feathered cork, colloquially called a bird.
India has a rich heritage of martial arts. In the Mahabharata and Ramayana, Bhima and Hanuman were the greatest Gadadhari and were skilled in wrestling. Lord Krishna's brother Balarama was a great Gadadhari. During the era of the Mahabharata, which is a tale of warring cousins, Pandava prince Arjun and Ekalavya were expert archers. Tradition held that the epic encompassed all aspects of Indian life; a common saying suggests that what is not found within it does not exist or is not true. Going back to the history of sports, martial arts was one of the earliest sport used for military purposes. This too was limited to only the warrior caste, the Kshatriya. Ancient India restricted their sports to only men, just like Ancient Greece, as the patriarchy was very strict. Kalaripayattu, an ancient traditional martial art from South India, is still practised to this day by many.
Board games, including chess and snakes and ladders, originated from the ancient Indian games chaturanga and gyan chauper respectively; these were later brought to foreign countries, where they would be modernized. Chaturanga taught ancient Indians how to strategise for war, and the other board games often imparted spiritual values.
Several Indian variations of tag, such as kabaddi and kho-kho, originated in prehistoric times, with kho-kho being played as far back as the fourth century BCE. Atya-patya, a variant of tag, was mentioned in the Naṟṟiṇai. Kabaddi and atya-patya in particular were used for military training purposes. During the rule of the Mughal Empire, pehlwani, a form of wrestling, was developed by combining native malla-yuddha with the Persian varzesh-e bastani.
Several other activities were partaken in for recreation, such as hunting, gambling in dice-games, etc.
British Colonial period
During the colonial period, British India competed at six Olympic Games, winning medals in field hockey. British sports were introduced into India during that period. Some Indians were variously participating in British sports to rise up the social hierarchy by imitating their colonisers as well as aiming to achieve victory against the British in their sports. The British also aimed to spread their sports among Indians as a way of spreading British values. Efforts were made to develop the native games of India during this time period; this led to the successful standardisation of games such as kabaddi and kho-kho, as well as their demonstration in the 1936 Summer Olympics. However, the economic struggles prevailing at the time limited people's overall ability to participate in sport.In the early days, the British began clubs, which only whites could join. These clubs were a place where men could gather together to drink, socialize, and play sports. British soldiers would play British sports as a way of maintaining fitness, since the mortality rate for foreigners in India was high at the time, as well as to maintain a sense of Britishness. The games played in the clubs included cricket, badminton, rugby, golf, and rowing.
Snooker originated in the late 19th century among British Army officers stationed in India. Modern polo originated in British India in the 19th century in Manipur, where the game was known as Sagol Kangjei, Kanjai-bazee, or Pulu. The name polo is the anglicized version of the lattermost term.
Dorabji Tata, with the support of Dr. A.G. Noehren, the then-director of YMCA, established the Indian Olympic Association in 1927.
One of the world's earliest football clubs, the Mohun Bagan was established in 1889. The club was formed when The Football Association of England began making standard rules for football before FIFA, the international governing body of football was founded.
Post-Independence
When India won the 1983 Cricket World Cup, cricket rose to popularity while the former favorite sport, field hockey, was declining. International sports and sporting leagues quickly grew after the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, which allowed more money to be invested into sports. The Indian Premier League, which started in 2007, quickly became the most dominant league in the country and is highly influential in global cricket; by 2022, it was only behind America's National Football League in terms of being the most valued league in the world on a per-match basis. Several other sports leagues quickly popped up after the IPL, with the Indian Super League becoming one of the biggest leagues and playing a significant role in Indian football. Other leagues also contributed to the modernisation of indigenous sports. Kabaddi has become an international sport, with countries such as South Korea and Iran playing it.The largest stadium in the world, the Narendra Modi Stadium, is in India.