Which of India’s three major team sports – cricket, hockey, or kabaddi – should be considered the national sport of India? Many sports lovers have this question in mind.
Over the course of its history, the government of India has designated a great number of things as Indian national symbols. Like, the tiger is the national animal of India, the peacock is its national bird, the lotus is India’s official flower, and so on.
If we talk about the national sport of India, then many believed that field hockey is the national sport of India because the Indian hockey team has outstanding performances in international events including the world cup.
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Which is the National Sport of India?
According to the statement made by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, India does not officially have a national sport. This information comes from the Ministry.
Because of India’s supremacy in the game from 1928 to 1956, when its hockey team won a total of nine Olympic medals—eight gold, one silver, and three bronze—hockey was regarded as the country’s national sport at that time.
A school teacher in the Dhule district of Maharashtra submitted a Right to Information (RTI) application in the year 2020. He was interested in finding out if hockey had been designated as India’s national sport.
According to the response given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, “the government has not declared any sport or game as the national game of the country,” given that the objective of the government is to develop and promote all popular sports disciplines.
Do you know? Oil wrestling is the national sport of Turkey.
Popular Sports in India
So, which sport can be considered India’s national game? Unofficially, it is claimed that hockey, cricket, and kabaddi take the spot due to the success of the national team in these sports. Kabaddi is also considered to be a national sport.
During the early years, people believed that hockey was the national sport of India. However, this perception changed after the Indian Kabaddi team’s success in international competitions.
Kabaddi: Unofficial National Sport of India
Now Kabaddi is the next game that is getting the tag of the national sport of India. This is because the Indian Kabaddi team has won a lot of international competitions including all the World Cup events.
With that Indian men’s national Kabaddi team has won 7 gold medals in Asian games till now whereas the Indian women’s national Kabaddi team has won 2 gold medals.
Popularity of Cricket in India
The following sport to take the spot was cricket because of the domination of the national team. Till today, India has won 2 ODI world cups, and 1 T20I world cup and the exposure the sport brought to young people who were trying to make a name for themselves.
However, following the success of the Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, there have been calls for the sport to be recognized as the nation’s official sport.
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On the other hand, the government has chosen to keep the position unfilled because they believe that each sport should be supported in an equitable manner.
Therefore, India does not yet have a game or sport that can be recognized as its official national sport. However, cricket, hockey, and kabaddi have all been given the status of de facto national sports of India at various times.
Myself Aditya and I am from Mumbai, India. As an intern, I joined the local news agency in Mumbai named “The Mumbai News”. Now I am working with various News Agencies and I provide them reports from Mumbai and other parts of India.
