Sport in India
Throughout the country a wide variety of sports are played. India is home to several traditional sports which originated in the country and continue to remain fairly popular. These include kabbadi, kho kho, pehlwani and gilli-danda. The British rule brought many popular sports in India including football, rugby union, cricket, golf, tennis, squash, hockey, boxing, snooker, and billiards.
India has hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events, such as the 1951 Asian Games and the 1982 Asian Games, the 1987 Cricket World Cup and 1996 Cricket World Cup, the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, the 2010 Hockey World Cup, the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Major international sporting events annually held in India include the Chennai Open, Mumbai Marathon, Delhi Half Marathon and the Indian Masters. India is also scheduled to host the first Indian Grand Prix in 2011.
India is also home to cricket's Indian Premier League, launched in 2008, and its fourth season of Indian Premier League has began on the 8th April 2011.
History
[edit]Before independence
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The history of sports in India dates back to the Vedic era. Physical culture in ancient India was fed by a powerful fuel : religious rites. There were some well-defined values like the mantra in the Atharva-Veda, saying," Duty is in my right hand and the fruits of victory in my left". In terms of an ideal, these words hold the same sentiments as the traditional Olympic oath: "For the Honour of my Country and the Glory of Sport."
Badminton probably originated in India as a grownup's version of a very old children's game known in England as battledore and shuttlecock, the battledore being a paddle and the shuttlecock a small feathered cork, now usually called a "bird."
Games like chess, snakes and ladders, playing cards, and polo had originated as sports in India and it was from here that these games were transmitted to foreign countries, where they were further modernized.
[edit]After independence
After the IX Asian Games in New Delhi in 1982, the capital city now has modern sports facilities. Such facilities are also being developed in other parts of the country. Besides sports and games included in the international sporting agenda, there are many which have developed indigenously. Among these are Wrestling and several traditional systems of Martial arts. The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports was initially set up as the Department of Sports in 1982 at the time of organisation of the IX Asian Games in New Delhi. Its name was changed to the Department of Youth affairs & sports during celebration of the International Youth Year, 1985.[1]
India has hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events, such as the 1951 and the 1982 Asian Games, the 1987 and 1996 Cricket World Cup, the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, the 2010 Hockey World Cup and the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Major international sporting events annually held in India include the Chennai Open, Mumbai Marathon and the Indian Masters. The country is scheduled to host the 2011 Cricket World Cup and the first Indian Grand Prix in 2011.
[edit]Administration and funding
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Political responsibility for sport in India is with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports which is headed by a cabinet minister and managed by National Sport Federations.[2] Sports Authority of India the field arm of the Ministry , supports and nurtures talent in youth, and provides them with requisite infrastructure, equipment, coaching facilities and competition exposure.[3] Dorabji Tata with the support of Dr.A.G.Noehren then Director of YMCA established the Indian Olympic Association in 1927. IOA is responsible for the Indian contingent’s participation in the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games(Outdoor-Indoor-Beach) and South Asian Games. Each Olympic and Non-Olympic Sport has a Federation at the National level .[4]
The selection of the National teams is done by the respective National Federations and then recommend to IOA for official sponsorship for participation in the Games being conducted under the auspicious of the International Olympic Committee, Olympic Council of Asia, Commonwealth Games Federation and SAG. A special feature of the Indian Olympic Association is that, the National Federations and the State Olympic Associations are affiliated/recognised to it. The main task of the State Olympic Associations is to Promote the Olympic Sport and to ensure coordination among the State Sports Associations. In 2010-11, total Budget for sports and physical education schemes is 3117.69 crore rupees.[5]Hockey, in which India has an impressive record with eight Olympic gold medals, is officially the national sport. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Arjuna Award are India's highest awards for achievements in sports, while the Dronacharya Award is awarded for excellence in coaching.
[edit]India at major international events
Main article: India at the Olympics
See also: India at the Asian Games and India at the Commonwealth Games
India first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, with a lone athlete (Norman Pritchard) winning two medals in athletics. The nation first sent a team to the Summer Olympic Games in 1920, and has participated in every Summer Games since then. India has also competed at several Winter Olympic Games since 1964.India had won total 20 medals at Olympic Games. India won its first gold medal in Men's Field hockey in 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games. Abhinav Bindra became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games and India's first gold medal since 1980, when the Men's Field Hockey Team won the gold.[6][7]
India is remarkable among nations for having won very few Olympic medals despite a population exceeding a billion, around half of them under the age of 25. Numerous explanations have been offered for the dearth, including poverty, malnutrition, neglected infrastructure, the lack of sponsorship, the theft of money and equipment, political corruption, institutional disorganisation, social immobility, the predominance of cricket and other cultural factors.[8][9][10][11]
According to several informal statistics, India is the country in the world with the lowest number of total Olympic medals per capita (of those countries that have actually won at least one medal).[12][13]
[edit]Medalists
Silver
Gold
Bronze* IOC regards this medal is credited to India, and International committees credits to Great Britain.
[edit]Cricket
Main article: Cricket in India
Cricket has a long history in India and is the most popular sport by a wide margin in India. It is like a religion in India. Recently, it won the 2011 Cricket World Cup by defeating Sri Lanka in the final match hosted by India. played on local, national and international levels and enjoys consistent support from people in all parts of India. Its development has been closely tied up with the history of the country, mirroring many of the political and cultural developments around issues such as Caste, Religion and Nationality. The highest profile rival of the Indian cricket team is the Pakistan team. Cricketis the most popular Sport in India, but it is not the nation's official national Sport (a distinction held by Field Hockey). The governing body, BCCI, was formed in December 1928.It is headed by Shashank Manohar
The India national cricket team won the 1983 Cricket World Cup the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, 2011 Cricket World Cup and shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka. Domestic competitions include the Ranji Trophy, the Duleep Trophy, the Deodhar Trophy, the Irani Trophy and the Challenger Series. In addition, BCCI conducts the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20competition.
[edit]Field hockey
Main article: Field hockey in India
Field hockey is the official national Sport in India. Hockey India, formed on 20 May 2009, is the new apex body of the country which has the sole mandate to govern and conduct all activities for bothmen's and women's hockey in India.
Until the mid 20th century, India dominated international Hockey, winning 8 Olympic gold medals, the World Cup in 1975 and were runners-up in the 1975 World Cup. The Indian player Dhyan Chand, the most famous Indian hockey player, was described as a 'wizard' by the European press. However, India's recent performance have been below par and India is currently ranked 9th in the world.India owns Hockey.
[edit]Football
Main article: Football in India
Football It was introduced during the British occupation and in some areas of the country it is equally as popular as Cricket. India was an Asian powerhouse in the 1960s, finishing as runners up in the1964 AFC Asian Cup, but gradually the standard of Football has gone down compared to other countries and India currently ranks 144 in the FIFA rankings as of 20 August 2010. The sport is, nevertheless, widely popular both as a Spectator Sport and as a Participation Sport and is controlled by the national team. The Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata is the second largest non-auto racing stadium in the world.
On the 23 June 1937 at the Army Headquarters, Shimla, the All India Football Federation was formed at a meeting of the representatives of Football Associations of 6 regions where the game was very popular in those days. It is the present body of Football in India.
[edit]Badminton
Badminton is a popular Sport in India. Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal is currently ranked second[14] in the world and has been named the Most Promising Player of 2008 by the Badminton World Federation. This is the first ever achievement by any Indian shuttler, after Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand who both won the All England Open in 1980 and 2001 respectively.
[edit]Golf
Golf is a growing Sport in India. It is especially popular among the wealthier classes and has not yet caught on with others due to its expense. The most successful Indian Golfer is Jeev Milkha Singh who has won 3 titles during the European Tour, 4 during the Japan Golf Tour and 6 during the Asian Tour. Although his current world ranking is 36, his highest ranking has been 28 (in March 2009). Sing has won the Asian Tour order of merit 2 times. Other Indians who have won the Asian tour order of merit are Jyoti Randhawa in 2002 (the first Indian to achieve this) and Arjun Atwal, who went on in 2010 to become the first India-born player to become a member of, and later won the U.S.-based PGA Tour.
There are numerous golf courses all over India. There is an Indian Golf Tour. India's men's golf team won gold at the 1982 Asian Games and silver at the 2006 Asian Games. Lakshman Singh won the individual gold at the 1982 Asian Games.
[edit]Chess
Chess has risen in popularity in India in the last few decades primarily due to its star player GM Vishwanathan Anand. He is the current World Champion and he has revolutionized the popularity of this Sport in India. Also it is believed that the game originated from India.
[edit]Motorsports
Motorsport is a popular Spectator Sport in India, although there are relatively few competitors compared to other sports due to the high costs of competing. On 1 February 2005, Narain Karthikeyan became India's first Formula One racing driver. On March 2007, he also became the first ever Indian-born driver to compete in a NASCAR Series. He debuted in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in the Kroger 250.[15] Force India F1 is a Formula One motor racing team. The team was formed in October 2007, when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol bought the Spyker F1 team for € 88 million.[16] After going through 29 races without a point, Force India won their first Formula One World Championship points and podium place when Giancarlo Fisichella finished second in the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix.[17] New Delhi is scheduled to host the Indian Grand Prix in 2011 at Jaypee Group Circuit in Greater Noida, 50 km from New Delhi. Karun Chandhok currently drives for the Hispania Racingin 2010 Formula One season.
[edit]Tennis
Tennis is a popular Sport among Indians in urban areas. However, India's fortunes in the Grand Slams singles have been unimpressive although Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have won many Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles Grand Slam Titles. Sania Mirza is the only notable Indian woman Tennis player, having won a WTA title and breaking in to the Top 30 WTA rankings. On the men's side, youngSomdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri are flying India's flag on ATP Tour. Yuki is the current Australian Open junior singles champion.
[edit]Other sports (nationally played)
[edit]Volleyball
Volleyball is a Sport played all over India, both in rural as well as urban India. It is a popular recreation Sport. India is ranked 5th in Asia and 27th in the world. Doing doing well in the youth and junior levels, India came in second in the 2003 World youth championships. Currently, a major problem for the sport is the lack of sponsors. Indian senior men's team is currently ranked 46th in the world.[18]
[edit]Basketball
Main articles: Basketball in India and India national basketball team
Basketball is a popular Sport in India. It is played in almost every schools, although very few people take it professionally. India has both a men's and women's national teams in Basketball. It also made 1 Olympic appearance in Basketball and appeared 20 times in the Asian Championship. India is currently ranked 41st in the world in Basketball.
[edit]Floorball
Floorball is a Sport which is gaining popularity in India. The Floorball Federation of India was started in 2001 and since then it has expanded rapidly. There has been 4 national Floorball championships held with Uttar Pradesh being the champions. Women's Floorball has also expanded alongside men and Mumbai is the first national Floorball champion of India. Currently, India is a provisional member of International Floorball Federation. India has participated in many international friendlies and steps are being taken to make India an Ordinary member of Floorball.[19]
[edit]Rugby union
Main articles: Rugby union in India and India national rugby union team
Like other Sports founded in England and introduced during the British Raj such as Cricket, Rugby union has a long history in India. The first recorded match was played on Christmas day in 1872, at CFC in Kolkata. Although low in profile as compared to Cricket or Field Hockey, some Indian sporting clubs are embracing the game. It is considered the second most popular winter Sport, afterFootball in India.
Currently, there are 22,282 registered players in the country and the Indian national team are ranked 75th out of 95 nations in the IRB World Rankings. The home of Rugby in India is considered to be Kolkata.[20]
[edit]Bandy
India does have a bandy team. Bandy Federation of India takes care of Bandy in India. Its headquarters is in Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh. Bandy is generally played in northern India where there is generally snow and ice. India is one of 5 countries in Asia and in total 27 to be a member of Federation of International Bandy. BFI will send a team to the Asian Winter Games in Astana-Almaty 2011.[21]
[edit]Netball
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Netball is a popular Sport in India among Indian women. India's national team is ranked 22nd in the world and has played only very few matches. The team has failed to qualify for any of the Netball World Cups. Recently they have played 8 matches in total.
In the 2010 Commonwealth Games, in Delhi, India, Netball was included as a medal sport. However the Indian team failed to win a medal.
[edit]Ice hockey
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Ice hockey is a popular sport in India, mainly in the Himalayan region of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir. In the winter, ice hockey is extremely popular and there are more than 25 clubs and villages that play the sport. However, due to lack of artificial freezing, the game is limited to the cold winter months of December, January and February which facilitate natural freezing of lakes and ponds. However, the first artificial ice hockey rink was inaugurated in Dehradoon, Uttarakand, in March 2009. The rink has an international sized surface of 60 by 30 metres and also offers a small practice rink.
The Ice Hockey Association of India just concluded the fourth National Ice Hockey Championships in Leh from 22 to 29 January 2009. The Ladakh Scouts Regimental team won the finals. The Ice Hockey Association of India also selected itsnational team, which represented India in the Asian Challenge Cup to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in March 2009.
[edit]Handball in India
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India has a handball team, although it hasn't made any impact at World stage. Indian Handball Federation manages handball in India. Handball is a popular sport in India, played at local level in India but hasn't made it big in domestic level. India has yet to make an impact at international level and the World Cup.
[edit]Throwball
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Throwball is gaining popularity in India as a competitive sport and Indian authorities of the game was instrumental in organizing Asian level and later, World level Association for the sport. Throwball is a popular sport, played in gym class,colleges, and clubs throughout Asian countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, China, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. It is also slowly taking popularity up by other countries such as France, Australia,Brazil, Canada and the United Kingdom.
[edit]Kabaddi
Main article: India national kabaddi team
Kabaddi is a popular sport in India. It is one of the most popular sports in India played mainly among people in villages. It is regarded as a team-contact sport as a recreational form of combat training. Two teams occupy opposite halves of a small field and take turns sending a raider into the other half, in order to win points by tagging/wrestling members of the opposing team; the raider then tries to return to his own half while holding his breath and chanting "kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi" during the whole raid. India has taken part in four Asian Games in Kabaddi, and won gold in all of them. There are 3 forms of kabaddi played in India are Amar, Suranjeevi, and Gaminee. Amar is generally played in Punjab, America, Canada, and other parts of the world. Suranjeevi is the most played form of Kabaddiin India and the world. This is the form used in international matches generally and played in Asian Games. India won the Kabaddi World Championship in 2007 beating Iran 29-19.[22]
[edit]Korfball
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Korfball is a game played by over 50 countries in the world. It is not as popular in India as other sports, but is still played by a significant amount of people. India came third 2 times in the Asia-Oceania Korfball Championships.
[edit]Lacrosse
Main article: Indian National Lacrosse Federation
Lacrosse is a fairly new sport in India which was introduced in 2006. It is now being played by schools in Shillong, Meghalaya and mostly unknown in the rest of the country.
[edit]Polo
India is considered the cradle of modern polo. Babar, the founder of the Mughal dynasty in the 15th century, firmly established its popularity. The period between the decline of the Mughal dynasty and the upsurgence of the British Imperial rule, Polo almost vanished from the mainland India. Fortunately the game survived in a few remote mountainous enclaves of the subcontinent, notably Gilgit, Chitral, Ladakh and Manipur.
In India, the popularity of polo has waned and risen many time. However, it has never lost its regal status. In the last few decades, the emergence of privately owned teams has ensured a renaissance in Indian polo. Today, polo is not just restricted to the royalty and the Indian Army
[edit]Baseball and softball
Baseball has recently started to show up in India. Softball is played at school and university level. Two Indian pitchers were selected after the Million Dollar Arm competition to play in the USA. A talent hunt kind of competition was conducted byMLB to find baseball talents in India and found the teenagers Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel. They were taken to the USA and received good coaching.[23] Now these two players are selected to play for Pittsburgh Pirates minor league organisations.Rinku Singh will play for the Canberra Cavalry of the Australian Baseball League for the competition's inaugural 2010-11 season.[24]
[edit]Boxing
Main article: Indian Boxing Federation
Boxing is one of the most enjoyable profiled sports in India. India has not produced a world champion in any weight class, although it is a regular medal-holder at Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. In November 2007, India's Mary Kom won the best boxer title and also secured a hattrick of titles. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Vijender Kumar won a bronze medal in the middleweight boxing category and Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar qualified for the quarterfinals. Akhil Kumar, Jitender Kumar, A.L.Lakra and Dinesh Kumar each won a bronze medal at the 2008 world championship. Vijender Kumar is current world number 1 on middleweight class.
[edit]Cycling
Main article: Cycling Federation of India
The history of cycling in India dates back to 1938. The Cycling Federation of India takes care of the sport. Cycling is unknown as a professional sport in India, but popular as a common recreational sport and it is a good way to keep fit
[edit]Table tennis
Table tennis is a popular indoor recreation sport in India, which has caught on in states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. The Table Tennis Federation of India is the official sports body. India, which is currently ranked 90 in the world, has produced a single player ranked in the top 50, Sharat Kamal.
[edit]Equestrian sports
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India also has a wide following in various equestrian sports like showjumping, eventing, dressage, endurance and tentpegging. Supported by the Equestrian Federation of India, eventing is the most popular of the five, with teams representing the country at most Asian games, winning a bronze medal in the 2006 and 2002 games. India has been represented at the Olympics twice, by Wing Commander I.J.Lamba, and Imtiaz Anees.
[edit]Kayaking
[edit]Flat water and sea kayaking
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Indian flat water kayakers are emerging powerhouse in the Asian circuit. Aside from professional flat waterkayaking, there is very limited recreational kayaking. Potential to generate interest in flat water kayaking is held by leisure resorts located near the sea or other water bodies. But more often than not, Indian tourists consider kayaking a one-time activity and not a sport to be pursued.
[edit]Whitewater kayaking
Whitewater kayaking has its rabid enthusiasts concentrated in the north towards Himalayas and some in the south in Bangalore in Karnataka. Most of these enthusiasts are or were Whitewater Raft guides who took to the sport of whitewater kayaking. Some of the prominent whitewater kayakers include Abhinav Kala, Shalabh Gahlaut and John Pollard. Many of them have notched first descents (similar to Climbing Ascents) on rivers in India and Nepal.
'Bangalore Kayakers' are India's first amateur group of white water kayakers. Based out Bangalore, they currently explore rivers around Western Ghats.[25]
Gear availability is another problem that plagues the sportsmen and sportswomen. While the global designs for whitewater boats and paddles change annually, Indian kayakers have to pay high fees if they want to import any kind of gear or they have to buy used gear in Nepal. More often than not, one will see Indian kayaking guides riding down the river in a Perception Amp or Piroutte or Dancer kind of design while the kayakers from abroad in their new design, planing hull, centered volume kayaks from Riot, Pyranha or Wave Sport.Due to increasing media coverage, more people do kayaking every season.
[edit]Mountain biking
Mountain biking is becoming a popular sport. For the last six years, MTB Himachal has been organized regularly by HASTPA, an NGO. It is attended by a number of national and international participants, such as Indian Army, Indian Air Force, ITBP and a number of young and energetic MTB individual riders from cities like Pune, Bangalore, Delhi and Chandigarh. Last year, the government of Sikkim (Department of Tourism) introduced its own MTB race with South East Asia's biggest prize money. The second edition saw 48 professional participants from across the globe.
Tour of Nilgiris is a major non-competitive/non-commercial touring event in South Asia today, that covers 1000 kilometres in under ten days.[26]
[edit]Rock climbing
Rock or technical climbing has been around in India since a long time. Presumably, the mountaineers headed for Himalayan ascents had to train somewhere, and would have imparted some of the initial technical climbing culture. Documented evidence of rock climbing is associated with bouldering and climbing around Bangalore's famous Ramanagaram crags and Turahalli boulders, around Western Ghats closer to Mumbai and Pune.
Dinesh KS (Dinni) of Wildcraft Equipment was climbing in Bangalore around 1980s as part of a continuing tradition of climbing around the area.
Deccan and south of Vindhyas in India are considered the prime locations for rock climbing in India today. More for reason that there is an established climbing tradition associated with Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore. For example, Hampi is considered the bouldering capital of India. Climbers congregate here during New Years eve and climb through the weeks preceding and after. Badami is considered highly for it's free and sport routes (numbering over 200).
While the nature of the sport is more of a non-competitive adventurous kind, the competitive version, i.e. sport climbing has many adherents, and has a very intense scene. Indians have notched quite a few international positions in sport climbing and are considered an Asian powerhouse.
Some of the more popular locations for sport climbing include, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kangla Wall of MMTA (Manipur) Shillong, Kolkata and Indore. For locations to climb in India, see Climbing locations in India.
[edit]Sepak takraw
Sepak Takraw is not very well known in India, although it was a demonstration sport at the Delhi Asiad in 1982.[27] The Sepak Takraw Federation with its headquarters in Nagpur, Maharashtra, was founded on 10 September 1982. It is recognised by the Indian Olympic Association and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports since 2000.[28] So far, the Federation has conducted 14 Senior, seven Junior and six Sub-Junior National Championship in different cities and is also conducting Federation Cup Tournament and zonal National Championship.
The game is very popular in the north eastern state of Manipur and some of the best players hail from there. In the 22nd King’s Cup International Sepak Takraw Tournament held at Bangkok, the India men team lost in the semifinals and claimed bronze in the team event. In doubles event, the women team lost in the semifinals, but bagged bronze medals.[29]
[edit]Winter sports
Snow sports are uncommon in India due to a lack of snow except in the extreme north. Ski tournaments take place every winter in Gulmarg, Kashmir. Winter sports are generally more common in the northern states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Skiing, snow rugby, snow cycling and snow football are few of the common sports played in India. Skiing is more popular although India has taken part in Luge in winter olympics since 1998. Shiva Keshavan is the only India to have won a medal in international meet in winter sports.
[edit]Archery
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An ancient game in India, archery is making rapid strides in the country, with more and more youngsters opting for it. Archery Association of India (AAI) is the national governing body of archery in India. Young talents like Jayant Talukdar, Tarundeep Rai and Rahul Banerjee are making waves at the big stage. With international laurels pouring thick and fast, India is emerging as an archery powerhouse. The country is all set to break the Korean stranglehold on the World Archery Championship. The fact that India finished second to the mighty Koreans at the 2005 World Championship is a solid proof of the growing International stature of Indian archers and the sport of archery back home.
In the present time, archery has found favor among a wider section of the Indian society, with the introduction of modern and sophisticated equipments for the sport. Moreover, the Archery Association of India (AAI) is taking special efforts in providing infrastructure and proper training to the sports-persons, who have taken archery as their event. Moreover, job opportunities are opening up in a big way for the sport's stars. Traditionally dominated by champion archers from tribal communities, today, a major lot of the archers come from non-tribal areas with good educational backgrounds. In the present time, archery in India has emerged as a sport with considerable recognition and has managed to score success.
[edit]Athletics and triathlon
In India, athletics has come a long way since the initial years, but it still is a minor sport in India. Even though Indian athletics has witnessed improvements in terms of facilities and infrastructure, the general standard of competition still leaves scope for a lot of improvement. However, some athletes like Anju Bobby George, Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, Milkha Singh, Norman Pritchard, P. T. Usha and T. C. Yohannan, have done India extremely proud, with their brilliant game and made a mark at the Olympics as well. In recent years, the females have been doing better in Asian competitions
[edit]Weightlifting and powerlifting
The headquarters of Indian Weightlifting Federation is at New Delhi. The Federation is affiliated to the Indian Olympic Association (Delhi) and is also a member of Asian Weightlifting Federation (Tehran) and International Weightlifting Federation (Budapest). The present General Secretary of Indian Weightlifting Federation is Balbir Singh.
The International Weightlifting Federation banned the Indian Weightlifting Federation from participating in all international competitions for one year, as three Indian women weightlifters—S Sunaina, Sanamacha Chanu and Pratima Kumari, were accused of doping offences in various international competitions in a single year.
[edit]Billiards and snookers
India has been a force to reckon with in world billiards competitions. An impressive assembly of great champions like Wilson Jones, Michael Ferreira and Geet Sethi has underlined the powerhouse status of the country. Snooker Federation of India, the apex body, play a proactive role in popularizing the game. Many such efforts have been done by the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India in the recent past to enhance the popularity of the game in the country. Several training camps for identifying budding talent and providing them regional and state sponsorship have been organised by the Billiards and Snooker Federation in various parts of the country.
[edit]Wrestling
Main article: Wrestling in india
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Considered as one of the most ancient and oldest sports in the world, wrestling in India has glorious past. The game of Wrestling started its journey in India several centuries back, during the middles ages. Wrestling is counted amongst the most prestigious and oldest events in the Olympic Games, as it was included in the Olympics in 708 BC. In the ancient times, Wrestling in India was mainly used as a wonderful way to stay physically fit. It was also used as a great way of military exercise without any weapons. Wrestling in India is also known as `dangal` and it is the basic form of a wrestling tournament. Wrestling in India is most famously known as Malla-Yuddha. Some forms of Mallayuddha were practiced in India even before the invasion of the Aryan. The famous Indian epic, Mahabharata has a huge mention about the game of Wrestling in India. One of the premier characters in Mahabharata, Bhima was considered to be a great Wrestler of that time and some of the other great wrestlers included Jarasandha, Duryodhan, Karna etc. In the other Indian epic, Ramayana also mentions about Wrestling in India and Hanuman is described as one of the greatest wrestlers of that time. The thirteenth century Malla Purana has the reference of a group of Gujarati Brahmin wrestlers known as Jyesthimallas.
[edit]Gymnastics
Gymnastics came of age in India, when at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Ashish Kumar won the first-ever medal in gymnastics for India, he also won a bronze medal.[30] However soon after the win the President of the Gymnastics Federation of India, controversially asked Ashish's Chief Coach from the erstwhile Soviet Union, Vladimir Chertkov: "Is this all that you can deliver, a bronze?", the comment was widely reported in the press. Later the coach also revealed that "In Aug 2009, we had no equipment. Ashish trained on hard floor till Feb 2010, and then we got equipment around 20 years old." Also the Federation announced that no Indian team would travel to Rotterdam for the World Championships in October which would mean that Indian gymnasts automatically not qualify as a team for the 2012 Olympics.[31][32]
[edit]Regional and other sports
[edit]Gilli-danda
It is a sport played using one small stick (gilli) and a large stick (danda) like cricket with ball being replaced by gilli. It is still played in villages of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra etc. states of India only as a recreational sport among boys. also is played in very warm weather.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilli-danda
[edit]Kancha
It is played using marbles (kancha) in cities as well as villages by small boys only as gully sport. The winner gets the kancha of other boys.
[edit]Kite-flying
It is played by many people in India in cities as well as villages. The festival of Makar Sankranti is marked with competitions of this sport.
[edit]Other sports
Other sports and games namely air sports , atya patya, bridge, carrom, cycle polo, fencing, gymnastics, judo, karate, kho-kho, mallakhamb, roller skating, rowing, shooting ball, soft tennis, squash, swimming, taekwondo, ten-pin bowling,tennikoit, tug of war, yachting, have dedicated following and their own national sports federations.[33]
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