Considering the origins of sports in India, it can be dated back to the Vedic era. In the erstwhile India setup, there were many games like archery, hammer throwing, chariot racing that was followed, a sophisticated version of which is followed now. It is believed that many games like chess, Wrestling, polo, archery, and hockey have been originated in India. Indian arcades of sports are decorated mainly by cricket, football, hockey and badminton with other popular games lawn tennis, athletics, weightlifting, and boxing.
Sports in our country used to be something that was always given importance but not by all the people and certainly not preferred amongst the population. With the advent of the modern-day Olympics, world championships and tournaments, more and more Indians are setting their future into this dimension and clearly ruling the world.
Be it cricket, badminton, football or kabaddi, Indians have shown that true spirit and determination can lead to a massive win. Indians are trying their hand in places where nobody ever thought we could achieve to. India holds a rank amongst the top 3 positions in both men’s and women’s cricket proving that the game is just meant to be played no matter the gender and the strength.
With badminton, we have international players like Sindhu and Saina who have truly drawn the India map on the world face of badminton. With kabaddi being a new thrill in the generation, the game has already achieved accolades and applause from the international media and audiences. India has proven that when it comes to talent India do not mind showing themselves up being always ready for a challenge. It’s a very proud moment for every Indian where you see your national flag being hoisted and the national anthem being played, giving you the strength and the will to do more and achieve more.
With the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games and the adrenaline pumping FIFA world cup 2019 in France, the coming year is going to be true bliss and adventure for sports lovers.
Talking of sports in India, there is no argument in saying that one of the most played sports in India is cricket. Be the people following the game, or amazing cricketers displaying their game with perfection, or Indian crowd that cheer for their victory, Cricket is the most watched sporting event in the country and is the most popular too although hockey is the national sport of India. India has performed majorly in three major world-class events and competed against world athletes. These games are Olympics, Asian games and commonwealth games. Olympics is the holy ground of sports in the world and has a top-notch competition level. Then is the Asian Games in which India performs considerably well. Then we have the Commonwealth Games where the spectators appreciate Indian performance in a very wide array of games.
Considering the stats that India has achieved in the Olympics is not very pleasing with winning only 28 medals in the total of 24 Olympics of which India has been a part of. When it comes to Asian Games the medal tally rises to 605 medals in a total of 17 Asian games, a far better relief for India. For Commonwealth Games, India stood 3rd in the 2018 Gold Coast Games and has won a total of 504 medals in the 17 commonwealth games.
Except for cricket, there are other games that create their impression on the demographics of the country too. These include:
Cricket: The immense popularity of cricket is unparalleled owing to the obsession the India crowd has with this game. One of the strong reasons for this popularity is the performance of the Indian team in various matches and tournaments. Indian cricket team has been one of the top prized teams in international cricket since 1983 till now. We have some amazing personalities who have established their esteem and image for the same. With ICC World Cup and IPL lurking its way in 2019, its going to be an amazing year for sports fans.
Football: It is one of the most loved games in the world, but football remains an enigma in the country. In the coming years, football has garnered a high fan base for itself but it still lacks the basic play and form that is needed to qualify championships like FIFA.
Kabaddi: The center play of the country, Kabaddi came into the picture after the Pro-Kabaddi league and since then been the center of attraction of all the games. With the game being originated in the country, the popularity of kabaddi is increasing in the coming years. Also, India has won all the kabaddi world cups until 2017.
Badminton: India set its foot on the international stage of badminton after Saina Nehwal etched a name in the history books by winning a bronze in the London Olympics 2012. This fame was followed by PV Sindhu who won silver at the Rio games in 2016.
Hockey: The national sports of the country, the domination India has on the world hockey charts and the Olympic medals won by the team, hockey is still trying to find its way back into the Indian grounds. Although India displays sheer perfection and game when it comes to matches and fair play, still the game hasn’t been able to revive its fan base.
And there would be many of you want to know about the international sports events that are going to happen. Here, we are sharing the list that you may check.
Date(s) | Sport | Event | Location |
Date(s) | Sport | Event | Location |
Jan 5 - Feb 1 | Football (Soccer) | AFC Asian Cup | UAE |
Jan 9-27 | Handball | World Championships(men) | Germany & Denmark |
Jan 12 - Feb 3 | Football (Soccer) | African Cup of Nations | Cameroon |
Jan 14-27 | Tennis | Australia Open | Melbourne, Australia |
Jan 23-29 | Extreme Sports | WinterX Games23 | Aspen, Colorado, USA? |
Feb 3 | Gridiron/Football | Super Bowl | Atlanta, Georgia |
Feb 5-17 | Skiing | Alpine World Ski Championships | Åre, Sweden |
Feb 20 - Mar 3 | Skiing | Nordic World Ski Championships | Seefeld in Tirol, Tyrol, Austria |
Feb 27 - Mar 3 | Cycling | World Track Championships | Pruszków, Poland |
Mar 2-12 | Multi-sports | WinterUniversiade | Krasnoyarsk, Russia |
Mar 14-21 | Multi-sports | Special Olympics World Summer Games | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
Apr 6 | Horse Racing | Grand National | Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool |
Apr 11-14 | Golf | Masters | Augusta, USA |
Apr 21-28 | Table Tennis | World Table Tennis Championships | Budapest, Hungary |
Apr 27- May 4 | Multi-sports | Arafura Games | Darwin, Australia |
May 2 | Horse Racing | Kentucky Derby | Louisville, Kentucky, US |
May 3-19 | Ice Hockey | IIHF World Championship | Bratislava and Košice, Slovakia |
May 16–19 | Golf | US PGA | Bethpage State Park, Black Course, Farmingdale, New York |
May 18 | Football (Soccer) | FA Cup final | Wembley Stadium, London |
May 26 - June 9 | Tennis | French Open | Paris, France |
May 30-Jul 15 | Cricket | World Cup | England |
Jun 7 - Jul 7 | Football (Soccer) | Women's World Cup | France |
Jun 13–16 | Golf | US Open | Pebble Beach, California |
Jun 14-30 | Multi-sports | European Games | Minsk, Belarus |
Jun 15-16 | Auto Racing | 87th24 Hours of Le Mans | Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France |
Jun 28 - Jul 7 | Beach Volleyball | World Championship (men/women) | Hamburg, Germany |
June | Ice Hockey | Stanley Cup finals | Canada/USA |
June | Basketball | NBA Finals | USA/Canada |
Jul 1-14 | Tennis | Wimbledon | London, England |
Jul 6-12 | Multi-sports | Island Games | Gibraltar |
Jul 6-28 | Cycling | Tour de France | Belgium, France |
Jul 8-20 | Multi-sports | Pacific Games | Apia, Samoa |
Jul 12-21 | Netball | World Cup | Liverpool, England |
Jul 12-28 | Swimming | World Aquatics Championships | Gwangju, South Korea |
Jul 18–21 | Golf | British Open | Royal Portrush Golf Club, County Antrim, Northern Ireland |
Jul 19-28 | Multi-sports | Indian Ocean Island Games | Port Louis, Mauritius. |
Jul 19-30 | Multi-sports | SummerUniversiade | Naples, Italy |
Jul 26-Aug 11 | Multi-sports | Pan American Games | Lima Peru |
Aug 1-4 | Extreme Sports | Summer X Games | Minneapolis, USA |
Aug 8-18 | Multi-sports | World Police and Fire Games | Chengdu, Sichuan, China |
Aug 9-25 | Swimming | World Swimming Champs | Gwangju, South Korea |
Aug 26–Sep 9 | Tennis | US Open | New York, USA |
Aug 31- Sep 15 | Basketball | FIBA Basketball World Cup | China |
Sept 16-25 | Weightlifting | IWF World Championships | Pattaya, Thailand |
NA | Multi-sports | World Urban Games | Los Angeles, USA |
Sep 7-21 | Boxing | AIBA World Championships (men) | Sochi, Russia |
Sep 20-Nov 2 | Rugby | World Cup | Japan |
Sep 22-29 | Cycling | UCI Road World Championships | Yorkshire, UK |
Sep 28-Oct 6 | Athletics | World Championships | Doha, Qatar |
Sept 28 | Australian Football | AFL Grand Final | Melbourne, Australia |
Sept | Rugby League | NRL Grand Final | Sydney |
Oct 4-13 | Gymnastics | World Championships (Artistic) | Stuttgart, Germany |
Oct | Boxing | AIBA World Championships (women) | Trabzon, Turkey |
Oct | Multi-sports | African Games | Casablanca, Morocco |
Oct 10-15 | Multi-sports | World Beach Games | San Diego, USA |
Oct 18-27 | Multi-sports | SummerMilitary World Games | Wuhan, China |
Oct 20-30 | Baseball | World Series | TBA |
Nov | Baseball | WBSC Premier 12 | TBA |
Nov 5 | Horse Racing | Melbourne Cup | Victoria, Australia |
Nov 18-24 | Tennis | Davis Cup | Madrid or Lille |
Nov 30-Dec 10 | Multi-sports | South-East Asian Games | Clark, Philippines |
Nov 30-Dec 15 | Handball | World Championships(women) | Japan |
Dec 9-15 | Golf | Presidents Cup | Melbourne, Australia |
Above is a calendar representing sports events on both national and international levels. We will update it as per the news.