Sports in India

Cricket: Kapil Dev | Sachin Tendulkar | Sunil Gavaskar | Virat Kohli | Suresh Raina | Mahender Singh Dhoni | Ravinder Jadeja | Mohammed Shami | Ajinkya Rahane | Shikhar Dhawan | Rohit Sharma | Mithali Raj (women cricketer)

Indian Athletes: Anjubobby George | P T Usha | Neeraj Chopra (javelin throw) | Dutee Chand (sprinter) | Muhammed Anas Yahiya (sprinter) | Jinson Johnson (middle-distance runner) | Poovamma Raju Machettira (sprinter) | Vinesh Phogat (Indian wrestler) | Seema Punia (discus thrower) | Mary Kom (boxer) | Tejaswin Shankar (high jump event)

Indian Chess Players: Vishwanathan Anand

Indian Hockey Players: Dhanraj Pillai | Dhyan Chand

Indian Tennis Players: Leander Paes | Sania Mirza

Indian Badminton Players: Saina Nehwal | Srikanth Kidambi | P. V. Sindhu

Olympics in Tokyo, Japan: Complete list of 108 Indian athletes

Sports in India - The history of games and sports in India goes back to historical times. Though these sports were not played in the form of modern day games yet they involved all round physical activity. Most of these physical activities revolved around religious rites, an integral part of ancient Indian customs. Chariot racing, horse racing, wrestling, chess, polo, sword fighting, Kite flying, archery, weight-lifting, hunting, swimming, military tactics, athletics etc have formed an integral part of Indian sports psyche since time immemorial.

We have examples of various types of games and sports in the Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata and other writings of early times. During the early and the medieval period, people of status were expected to have mastery in some of the abovementioned sports. With changing times, nature and types of games and sports in India also changed. In modern times Indians, like all other countries, have also taken to new sports. This modern sports culture is a curious mix of traditional and modern sports.

Some of the prominent games and sports which are followed and played today, in India, are Cricket, Hockey, Tennis, Table Tennis, Billiards and Snooker, Football etc. Indian sportsmen have excelled and made a mark for them at international as well as national level in a number of games and sports. Under this section we are highlighting the achievements of some of the important and famous sports personalities of India. This also includes biography and profile of these legendry sportsmen from India.