India

=== Sports and recreation ===
{{Main|Sport in India}}
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| caption1 = Girls play [[hopscotch]] in [[Jaora]], Madhya Pradesh.  Hopscotch has been commonly played by girls in rural India.<ref name="SrinivasanJermyn2001">{{citation|last1=Srinivasan|first1=Radhika|last2=Jermyn|first2=Leslie|last3=Lek|first3=Hui Hui|title=India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zoVby4OJWhYC&pg=PA109|year=2001|publisher=Times Books International|isbn=978-981-232-184-8|page=109}} Quote: "Girls in India usually play jump rope, or hopscotch, and five stones, tossing the stones up in the air and catching them in many different ways ... the coconut-plucking contests, groundnut-eating races, ... of rural India."</ref>
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Several [[Traditional games of India|traditional indigenous sports]] such as ''[[kabaddi]]'', ''[[kho kho]]'', ''[[pehlwani]]'' and ''[[gilli-danda]]'', and also [[Indian martial arts|martial arts]] such as ''[[Kalarippayattu]]'' and ''[[marma adi]]'', remain popular. [[Chess in India|Chess]] is commonly held to have [[History of chess#India|originated in India]] as ''[[chaturanga|chaturaṅga]]'';{{sfn|Wolpert|2003|p = 2}} in recent years, there has been a rise in the number of Indian [[Grandmaster (chess)|grandmasters]].{{sfn|Rediff 2008 b}} [[Viswanathan Anand]] became the [[World Chess Championship 2007|Chess World Champion]] in 2007 and held the title until 2013. He also won the [[Chess World Cup]] in [[Chess World Cup 2000|2000]] and [[Chess World Cup 2002|2002]]. In 2023, 18-year-old [[R Praggnanandhaa]] finished as runner-up in the [[Chess World Cup 2023]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.chessvibes.com/candidates%E2%80%99-r13-anand-draws-clinches-rematch-with-carlsen |title=Candidates' R13: Anand Draws, Clinches Rematch with Carlsen |access-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111220728/https://www.chessvibes.com/candidates%E2%80%99-r13-anand-draws-clinches-rematch-with-carlsen |archive-date=11 January 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Parcheesi]] is derived from ''[[Pachisi]]'', another traditional Indian pastime, which in early modern times was played on a giant marble court by [[Mughal Empire|Mughal emperor]] [[Akbar the Great]].{{sfn|Binmore|2007|p = 98}} The [[tabletop game]] [[carrom]], which originated in India, is also very popular.<ref>History of Physical Education, p.209, SR Tiwari, APH Publishing</ref>

[[Cricket in India|Cricket]] is the most popular sport in India.<ref>{{citation|last=Shores|first=Lori|title=Teens in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CPQmbyiS-iEC|access-date=24 July 2011|date=15 February 2007|publisher=[[Compass Point Books]]|isbn=978-0-7565-2063-2|page=78|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617050252/https://books.google.com/books?id=CPQmbyiS-iEC|archive-date=17 June 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Major domestic leagues include the [[Indian Premier League]]. Professional leagues in other sports include the [[Indian Super League]] ([[soccer|football]]) and the [[Pro Kabaddi League|Pro Kabaddi]] league.<ref>{{cite web|date=26 September 2021|title=From IPL to ISL, sports leagues in India to watch out for|url=https://www.financialexpress.com/sports/from-ipl-to-isl-sports-leagues-in-india-to-watch-out-for/2337628/|access-date=3 December 2021|website=The Financial Express|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Indian Super League: Odisha president says sacking Stuart Baxter was 'the only course of action'|url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11995/12207157/indian-super-league-odisha-president-says-sacking-stuart-baxter-was-the-only-course-of-action|access-date=3 December 2021|publisher=Sky Sports}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=6 August 2014|title=Kabaddi gets the IPL treatment|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-28660432|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Sachin Tendulkar about to score 14000th run in test cricket.jpg|thumb|upright=2|left|Indian [[cricket]]er [[Sachin Tendulkar]] about to score a record 14,000 runs in [[Test cricket]] while playing against Australia in [[Bangalore]], 2010]]
[[India national cricket team|India]] has won two [[Cricket World Cup]]s, the [[1983 Cricket World Cup|1983 edition]] and the [[2011 Cricket World Cup|2011 edition]], as well as becoming the inaugural [[T20 World Cup]] Champions in [[2007 ICC World Twenty20|2007]]. India has also won the [[ICC Champions Trophy|Champions Trophy]] twice, in [[2002 ICC Champions Trophy|2002]] and [[2013 ICC Champions Trophy|2013]]. The only edition of the [[World Championship of Cricket]] was won by India in [[1985 World Championship of Cricket final|1985]].

India also has eight field hockey gold medals in the [[Field hockey at the Summer Olympics|summer olympics]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/sports/other-sports/story/independence-day-india-at-70-cricket-football-hockey-kabaddi-1029624-2017-08-14|title=What India was crazy about: Hockey first, Cricket later, Football, Kabaddi now?|website=India Today}}</ref>
The improved results garnered by the [[India Davis Cup team|Indian Davis Cup team]] and other tennis players in the early 2010s have made tennis increasingly popular in the country.{{sfn|Futterman|Sharma|2009}} India has a comparatively strong presence in shooting sports, and has won several medals at the [[Olympic Games|Olympics]], the [[ISSF World Shooting Championships|World Shooting Championships]], and the [[Commonwealth Games]].{{sfn|Commonwealth Games 2010}}{{sfn|Cyriac|2010}} Other sports in which Indians have succeeded internationally include [[badminton]]{{sfn|British Broadcasting Corporation 2010 a}} ([[Saina Nehwal]] and [[P. V. Sindhu]] are two of the top-ranked female badminton players in the world), boxing,{{sfn|Mint 2010}} and wrestling.{{sfn|Xavier|2010}} [[Football in India|Football]] is popular in [[West Bengal]], [[Goa]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Kerala]], and the [[Seven Sister States|north-eastern states]]. India has traditionally been the dominant country at the [[South Asian Games]]. An example of this dominance is the [[Basketball at the South Asian Games|basketball competition]], where the [[India national basketball team|Indian team]] won four out of five tournaments to date.<ref>{{cite news |title=Basketball team named for 11th South Asian Games |url=https://nation.com.pk/02-Jan-2010/basketball-team-named-for-11th-south-asian-games |access-date=23 November 2019 |work=[[The Nation (Pakistan)|The Nation]] |publisher=Nawaiwaqt Group |date=2 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202035448/https://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/lahore/02-Jan-2010/Basketball-team-named-for-11th-South-Asian-Games |archive-date=2 December 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Majumdar|Bandyopadhyay|2006|pp = 1–5}}
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|0=[[File:Filles jouant à la marelle, Jaura, Inde.jpg|thumb|left|Girls play [[hopscotch]] in [[Juara]], Madhya Pradesh.  Hopscotch has been commonly played by girls in rural India.}}<ref name="SrinivasanJermyn2001">{{citation|last1=Srinivasan|first1=Radhika|last2=Jermyn|first2=Leslie|last3=Lek|first3=Hui Hui|title=India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zoVby4OJWhYC&pg=PA109|year=2001|publisher=Times Books International|isbn=978-981-232-184-8|page=109}} Quote: "Girls in India usually play jump rope, or hopscotch, and five stones, tossing the stones up in the air and catching them in many different ways ... the coconut-plucking contests, groundnut-eating races, ... of rural India."</ref>]]
|1=[[File:Indian-Hockey-Team-Berlin-1936.jpg|thumb|left|Indian hockey team, captained by [[Dhyan Chand]] (standing second from left), after winning the finals at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] – their third of six consecutive Olympic golds.]]
|2=[[File:Sania Mirza during her first round match with Virginie Razzano, Day 2 of Wimbledon 2011.jpg|thumb|left|[[Sania Mirza]] is an Indian professional tennis player, a former [[List of WTA number 1 ranked players|world No. 1]] in doubles, who has won six [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam titles]] in her career.}}<ref name=No1ranking>{{cite news|title=Hingis and Mirza win. Mirza becomes No. 1|url=https://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/4634188/title/hingis-mirza-win-mirza-becomes-no1|access-date=19 April 2015|publisher=[[Women's Tennis Association]]|date=12 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415000115/https://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/4634188/title/hingis-mirza-win-mirza-becomes-no1|archive-date=15 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> She is shown here at Wimbledon, 2011.]]
|3=[[File:Kabaddi in Bagepalli Karnataka.jpg|thumb|left|A game of ''kabaddi'' in [[Bagepalli]], Karnataka]]
|4= [[File:Joueursindienspushkar.jpg|thumb|left|A street-corner game of ''pachisi'' in [[Pushkar]], Rajasthan]]
|5=[[File:Street Cricket Batter India.jpg|thumb|left|Cricket is the most popular sport in India.<ref name="HongMangan2005">{{citation|last1=Hong|first1=Fan|last2=Mangan|first2=J.A.|title=Sport in Asian Society: Past and Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C0iQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA306|year=2005|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-135-76043-4|page=306}}</ref> Shown here is an example of [[street cricket]].]]
|6=[[File:Viswanathan Anand 08 14 2005.jpg|thumb|left|Indian chess grandmaster and former world champion [[Vishwanathan Anand]] competes at a chess tournament in 2005. Chess is commonly believed to have originated in India in the 5th century CE.]]
|7=[[File:XIX Commonwealth Games-2010 Delhi Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal in action against her Barbados opponent during their match in the preliminary round of badminton event, at Sirifort Sports Complex, in New Delhi.jpg|left|thumb|[[Saina Nehwal]] is the only Indian female to have become world number one in [[badminton]]]]
}}-->

India has hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events: the [[1951 Asian Games|1951]] and [[1982 Asian Games]]; the [[1987 Cricket World Cup|1987]], [[1996 Cricket World Cup|1996]], [[2011 Cricket World Cup|2011]] and [[2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup]] tournaments (and is also scheduled to host it in [[2031 Cricket World Cup|2031]]); the [[1978 Women's Cricket World Cup|1978]], [[1997 Women's Cricket World Cup|1997]] and [[2013 Women's Cricket World Cup|2013 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup]] tournaments (and is also scheduled to host it in [[2025 Women's Cricket World Cup|2025]]); the [[1987 South Asian Games|1987]], [[1995 South Asian Games|1985]] and [[2016 South Asian Games]]; the [[1990-91 Asia Cup|1990-91 Men's Asia Cup]]; the [[Chess World Cup 2002|2002 Chess World Cup]]; the [[2003 Afro-Asian Games]]; the [[2006 ICC Champions Trophy|2006 ICC Cricket Champion's Trophy]] (and is also scheduled to host it in [[2029 ICC Champions Trophy|2029]]); the [[2006 Women's Asia Cup]]; the [[2009 BWF World Championships|2009 World Badminton Championships]]; the [[2010 Men's Hockey World Cup|2010 Hockey World Cup]]; the [[2010 Commonwealth Games]]; the [[2016 T20 World Cup|2016 ICC Men's Cricket T20 World Cup]] (and is also scheduled to host it in [[2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup|2026]]); the [[2016 ICC Women's World Twenty20|2016 ICC Women's Cricket T20 World Cup]]; and the [[2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup]]. Major international sporting events held annually in India include the [[Maharashtra Open]], the [[Mumbai Marathon]], the [[Delhi Half Marathon]], and the [[Indian Masters]]. The first Formula 1 [[Indian Grand Prix]] featured in late 2011 but has been discontinued from the F1 season calendar since 2014.{{sfn|Dehejia|2011}}
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