Indian Sports
During Onam Celebrations on the Pamba River at Aranmula near Pathanamthitta is where the annual Snake boat race is performed.
The national Sport in India is Field Hockey. The year of 1975 saw the India national field hockey team win the Men’s Hockey World Cup as well as the following medals at the Olympic Games:
• 8 gold
• 1 silver
• 2 bronze
The most popular Sport in India is Cricket. The India national cricket team have won the following acclamations in the sport:
• 1983 Cricket World Cup
• 2007 ICC World Twenty20
• Shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka.
Domestic competitions associated with cricket include:
• the Ranji Trophy
• the Duleep Trophy
• the Deodhar Trophy
• the Irani Trophy
• the Challenger Series
India was the host of 2010 Commonwealth Games, which were played in New Delhi. During the opening ceremony of the games, it presented an amazing display of Indian culture and heritage to the entire world.
The game of chess is commonly thought to have originated in northwestern India during the Gupta Empire. Other games which originated in India and continue to be popular to this day in wide parts of northern India include:
• Kabaddi
• Gilli-danda
• Kho kho
Indian martial arts
The Kalarippayattu from Kerala is one of the greatest well-known forms of ancient Indian martial arts. Originating in southern India in 12th century BC, this ancient fighting technique is regarded as one of the oldest surviving martial arts. In this form of martial arts, there are various stages of physical training, which include:
• ayurvedic massage with sesame oil ( to convey suppleness to the body)
• a series of sharp body movements (to gain control over various parts of the body)
• complex sword fighting techniques
Developed around 200 AD, Silambam uses complex footwork techniques including a variety of spinning styles and a bamboo staff as the main weapon, which makes it unique among Indian martial arts.
In 1100 AD in northern India, the musti yuddha was evolved and focused on mental, physical and spiritual training. Another influential fighting arts style was the Dhanur Veda tradition which considered the bow and arrow to be the ultimate weapons.
The emphasis placed on meditation as a tool to remove fear, doubt and anxiety is a distinguishing factor of Indian martial arts.