Top 10 Popular Sports Played in India 2023

India is a huge country with a population of over 1.3 billion people, more than twice the size of all of Europe. Sport has the same meaning as cinema, art or theatre. Professional athletes are not only spectator sports for the general public but also a source of inspiration for the Indian youth. There are many top sports are played in India followed by a huge fan following.  This is one of the most significant contributions that the sports sector has made to India. There are rare occasions when Indians unite as a nation for a common cause and sporting events are just a few such instances. 

Here are the top popular sports played in India:

Badminton

Badminton is one of the top10 popular sports played in India. It is a racquet sport that uses racquets to hit the shuttlecock over the net. Badminton is another big sport in Asia, especially in China and India. It is often played as a casual outdoor activity in the garden or on the beach.  Official games are played on a rectangular indoor court. 

Points are scored by hitting the shuttlecock with the racket and landing it on the opposite half of the court. Each side is only allowed to touch the ball once before it goes over the net. The game ends when the ball touches the ground or ground, or when a foul is called by the referee, duty official or opposing team. 

The duo of Jwala Gutt and Ashwini Ponnappa became the first woman to win a medal, winning bronze in 2011. Badminton has become so popular that it is now the second most played sport in India after cricket. TV viewership has also increased significantly. 

Sport at a high level requires excellent physical condition: athletes need aerobic endurance, flexibility, strength, speed and precision. It is also a technical sport that requires good motor coordination and the development of sophisticated racquet movements. Moreover it is one of the top popular sports played in India. 

Field Hockey

Field hockey is one of the top10 popular sports played in India.  It is a team sport organized in the standard hockey format, with each team playing with ten field players and a goaltender. Considered by many to be India’s national sport, field hockey is one of the country’s most popular sports. 

Teams must hit a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick toward the opposing team’s shooting ring and then into the net. The game is won by the team that scores the most goals. The Hockey India League (HIL) is one of the most popular sports leagues in the country.

India and Pakistan dominated men’s hockey until the early 1980s, winning eight Olympic gold medals and three in respectively in their first five world championships. Established in 2013, the league is currently contested by six teams, each playing 10 games in a two-month regular season followed by the playoffs. 

The two largest field hockey tournaments are the Olympic Games and the field hockey world championships, which also take place every four years. India has won ice hockey eight times at the Summer Olympics, including six consecutive Olympics.  That’s why it is one of the top popular sports played in India.  

Boxing

Boxing is one of the top popular sports played in India. It is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective clothing such as hand wraps and mouthguards, punch each other in a boxing ring for a specified period of time. It is a very different professional sport than WWE and other fight shows.

 However, India regularly wins medals in international tournaments, including the Asian and Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games. The sport rose to prominence in India after Vijender Singh won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Games. Since then, boxing has won numerous medals internationally, resulting in a talented core of boxers flying the Indian flag. 

Alongside Vijender, against all odds, boxer MC Mary Kom won a bronze medal at the London 2012 games. In professional boxing, boxers compete under their own name rather than at the national level in general. 

Vijender Singh also turned pro in 2015 when he started his professional boxing career. Boxing is becoming popular in some states, especially in Haryana .The Bhiwani Boxing Club in Bhiwani, Haryana has produced medalists in various weight classes. No wonder it is one of the top sports played in India.

Tennis

One of the most popular sports in the world, tennis is one of the top popular sports played in India. It has a large following in India. While there hasn’t had much success in singles, India has traditionally been known for producing quality doubles players. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have won multiple Grand Slam doubles titles together. 

However, India’s addiction to these two legends is coming true. With Bhupathi retiring a few years ago and Paes getting older with each passing season, ‘s Indian tennis scene is suffering from a lack of experienced talent. Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza remain the only veteran pros on the ATP Tour to represent India, with Somdev Devvarman retiring a few months ago. 

In order to increase the tennis audience in India, Mahesh Bhupathi established the International Premier Tennis League in 2014. Comprised of four teams from four Asian countries, namely Indian Aces, Japan Warriors, Singapore Slammers and UAE Royals, the IPTL is inspired by the success of the IPL in India and World Team Tennis in the 70’s. Moreover it is one of the top popular sports played in India.

Motorsports

Motorsports is one of the top popular sports played in India.  It is a universal term for a group of sporting competition events in which mainly motor vehicles are used. Indian sports enthusiasts have always had a keen interest in motorsports, which has grown steadily over the years. The main reason for this development was the fad of Formula 1, the biggest motor sport spectacle in the world.

Aside from the drivers, India also has its own Formula 1 team called Force India. 2017 was a great year for the team as they finished fourth and had their best finish of 187. In addition to Formula 1, India also has its own Moto GP racing team, Mahindra Racing. 

Driver Gaurav Gill is another representative of the country on the motorsport scene. Gill is best known for rallying. In 2013 he became the first Indian to win the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. Overall it is one of the top popular sports played in India.

Basketball

Bsketball is one of the top popular sports played in India. It is a team sport in which two teams, usually made up of five players, compete on a rectangular court with the main objective of throwing a basketball through the defender’s basket. Basketball has always been an important part of Indian sports culture.

  India has had some success in the basketball scene in recent years. Indian basketball has made significant strides since 2015 and is now one of the top emerging teams in the game, with the FIBA ​​men’s team ranked 82nd. There are numerous leagues for boys and girls at senior, junior and youth levels.

 The Indian women’s basketball team has qualified for the FIBA ​​​​​​Women’s Asian Cup in Division A. This is the first time an Indian basketball team has achieved such a feat internationally. In 2015, Satnam Singh Bhamara became the first Indian player to be drafted by NBA team Dallas Mavericks. 

He was selected in the 52nd round of the NBA draft. As an early adopter of basketball, India has so far produced many talented basketball players who have achieved international fame making it one of the top popular sports played in India. 

Football

The world’s most popular sport football is one of the top popular sports played in India. Dubbed the “sleeping giant” of the football world by former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, football in India is primarily a spectator sport. While ISL has built a large following in India, it is the keen interest in European club tournaments that underpins football’s popularity in India. 

The Indian national football team is currently ranked 105th in the world. Considering the population of India and the demographics of some of the other countries that have qualified for the World Cup in recent years, not qualifying can be described even once as a professional and institutional failure. 

The popularity of football in India continues to be fueled by the large number of European fans in the country’s urban centres. The Premier League is one of the most watched sports leagues in India. 

The efforts by European football organizations have produced a whole generation of young Indians to follow and support the best clubs in England, Spain, Germany and Italy. After the European clubs, India now has its own football league, the Indian Soccer League (ISL).The tournament attracted nearly 160 million viewers in its inaugural season in 2014. No wonder it is one of the top popular sports played in India.

Kabaddi

Kabaddi is one of the top popular sports played in India. While a few years ago various sports in India such as badminton and hockey would have ranked third, Kabaddi has returned to the center of Indian sports. 

Among traditional Indian sports, Kabaddi has made a comeback with the unexpected rise of the Pro-Kabaddi League, which is held in different cities of India every year. In 2014, the PKL became the second most popular league in India, surpassed only by the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

With a strong viewer base and sponsors available, kabaddi’s apparent popularity there makes it uniquely positioned to engage viewers in rural areas and attract new viewers who are slowly learning more about the sport. 

India and Iran are currently the two most popular Kabaddi countries in the world. India has won every Kabaddi World Cup until 2017 making one of the top popular sports played in India.

Wrestling

Indian wrestling is one of the top popular sports played in India. It is synonymous with Akhadda-style sport. While professional wrestling differs significantly from the traditional Indian style of wrestling, the basics of the sport remain the same. 

Indian grapplers have been making a big impact on the international scene lately, winning at least one medal at every Olympics since the Beijing 2008 Games. Sushil Kumar, one of India’s most successful Olympians, is a two-time Olympic champion. Sushil is not alone with an impressive grapplers who have won medals in international tournaments.

Movies play an important role in introducing the general public to a sport they know little about. While overtaking cricket in popularity may seem like a stretch, creating a sporting culture in the country is vital to the future success of major tournaments. Moreover it is one of the top popular sports played in India.

Cricket

Cricket is one of the top popular sports played in India. The popularity of cricket in India is unmatched by interest in any particular sport in any other country. There are several reasons for cricket’s continued popularity. 

Aside from the fact that cricket matches are regularly broadcast and promoted by major sports channels, the performance of cricket in India has had a major impact on its continued popularity. From the 1983 World Cup to the 2013 Champions Trophy, the highest prize in international cricket. 

This era was marked by some of the best Indian and world cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, MS Dhoni and many more. With a steady influx of talent in every generation, cricket is expected to be the most popular sport in India for the foreseeable future. Overall it is one of the top popular sports played in India.

Conclusion

As for the final these are some of the top popular sports played in India. These sports are hugely played and have thousands of players. Some of the top players represent India at Olympics.  Also they have a huge audience having a keen eye on their favorite players.