Sports in India

Sports in India are a part of Indian culture.

India has many traditional sports such as kabbadi, kho kho, pehlwani, and gilli-danda. Also, there are sports which were imported from the West such as football, rugby union, cricket, golf, tennis, squash, hockey, Javelin throw, boxing, snooker, and billiards.  Sports are popular with both participants and onlookers.

History
The history of traditional sports is ancient.Banerji, Sures Chandra. (1977).  A Companion to Sanskrit Literature, p. 768.

In general, the most popular sports in modern India are the ones which do not include bodily contact.Menon, Dilip. M. (2006). Cultural History of Modern India, p. xvii.  For example, cricket is the most important sport on television.Asha Kasbekar, Asha. (2006). Pop Culture India!: Media, Arts, And Lifestyle, p. 166.

In the regions of Bengal and Kerala, Association football is very popular.

India has hosted international sporting events, including the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Olympic Games

Indian athletes have competed in 32 Olympic games in 19 countries.SportsReference.com (SR/Olympics), "India" ; retrieved 2012-8-20. The Indian national team has won gold medals in Summer Olympic Games, including
 1980Field HockeyTimmons, Heather.  " With India’s First Gold, Suddenly a Billion People Notice the Olympics," New York Times, August 11, 2008; excerpt, "Abhinav Bindra, 25, became the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal "; retrieved 2012-7-13.
 2008Air rifle, 10-meter competition.

Commonwealth Games
India has competed in many Commonwealth Games; and India was the host country to the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Related pages 
 I-League
India at the Olympics
India national football team

References

Other websites

 Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
 Indian sports venues at WorldStadiums.com