Olympics.com
2 Feb 2022
India may have won eight Olympic gold medals in hockey, multiple World Cups in kabaddi and numero uno in cricket but the nation doesn't have a game that it can call its own.
The government of India has chosen several elements as symbols that define the nation’s identity, legacy and heritage.
For instance, the tiger is the national animal of India, the peacock is the national bird and the lotus, the national flower.
The Indian hockey team is the most successful side in the history of the Olympics, having won eight gold, one silver and three bronze medals.
However, in contrast to common perception, hockey is not the national game of India.
The next best answer, kabaddi, is also incorrect. Though, like hockey, the Indian kabaddi team has also reigned supreme at the world stage, winning all World Cup events to date and a whopping seven gold medals at the Asian Games.
And those siding with the currently popular cricket are also mistaken.
As a matter of fact, India does not have a national game.
In 2020, a school teacher from Dhule district from the state of Maharashtra filed an RTI query with the government, seeking to know when hockey was declared as India’s national game.
"The government has not declared any sport/game as the national game of the country, as the objective of the government is to encourage/promote all popular sports disciplines," the ministry of youth affairs and sports replied.
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