Sports in India have a long tradition, which can be traced in its religious philosophy and ancient books. The Hindu philosophy has always emphasized in physical perfection. It has been implied that gaining strength, stamina, endurance and supreme control of the body functions has been considered as means of attaining the emancipation. That is why, the ancient Indian sages focuses on ‘Yoga’, which deals with all these aspects of life.

No wonder that the Indian civilization, in course of time, has given birth to a number of sports in the modern world.

Although today the games and sports of the colonial origin, like Football (soccer), cricket, have taken over the lion’s share of Indian society, the traditional sports merits a special mention for their variety and the excitement they can generate.

A large number of traditional sports are still practised in the rural India with great enthusiasm. One strikingly common aspect of the traditional sports of India is the minimum use of instruments. The emphasis is largely on physical fitness and competence.

Some of traditional sports, like Chess, Kabaddi, which had their origin in India, have gained prominence over the world.

Even the Indian religions had been instrumental in the invention and practice of some traditional sports in India. Quite a few traditional sports imbibed the forms of war and gratified the man’s instinctive desire to fight in a more creative way.

Following are some traditional Indian sports: