India is not only a land of wide diversity but when it comes to sports it is the most underrated country. Indian sportsman has always shown the world what they are capable of like Major Dhyan Chand the charismatic hockey player who helped India won three Olympic Gold Medals or be it Kapil Dev who led India to win the cricket world cup in 1983 against the then fearsome West Indies Team. Indian sports history is full of legendary sportsmen who have made India proud on many occasions. India loves sports and each sport has a huge fan following. Millions of Indians get glued to their TV and smartphones whenever their favorite games are broadcasted.
Though there are numerous sports endorsed and played in India and each of the sports has international players who have brought many laurels for the country but if you talk about the three most popular sports in India then it would be Cricket, Football, and Hockey. So let's look at what factors make all of these three sports the most popular in India:
Cricket: If you think cricket is just a sport in India then you should probably visit a cricket stadium whenever the Indian cricket team is playing against other teams. Cricket is a religion in India and Indian cricketers are worshipped by their fans. Over the years India has produced many legendary cricketers who have won many international championships for the country. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid to M.S. Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma all of them garner a huge fan following not only in India but around the world. Indian cricket has always produced world-class players capable of beating any team on any day. Cricket is followed by millions of people in India. People even bet on their favorite team on https://bettingstar.in just for fun. Indian cricket fans generally go crazy whenever there is a tournament going and you can witness this by looking at the traffic on https://bettingstar.in/cricket-betting-sites websites. Cricket is the most popular sport in India and cricketers are no less than celebrities here.
Football: Second on the list is the world's favorite game. Though football is the most popular and most-watched sports in the world in India it is slightly less popular than cricketers. Over the years Indian football team is performing well in tournaments and many promising Indian football players have made it big to the international level and made the country proud. The like of I. M. Vijayan, Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri, Shabbir Ali, Subrata Pal, Gouramangi Singh, Climax Lawrence, Mahesh Gawli has made football very famous in India because of their performances on home soil as well as on International platforms. Football is evolving at a very rapid pace in India and many promising players who will make it big on international circuits one day.
Hockey: It is the national sport of India. Indian hockey has produced many legendary players over the years which has won many world championships for the country. From the most famous Major Dhyan Chand to the likes of Udham Singh, Dhanraj Pillay, Mohammed Shahid, Sardar Singh, Sandeep Singh, Manpreet Singh Indian hockey never faced talent drought. Every hockey player has contributed to the popularity of hockey in India. The Indian hockey team has won many trophy and is considered as a tough team to beat by its arch-rivals.
Author, Freelance writer