India Doesn’T Have A National Sport

In school, we were taught that India’s national bird is the peacock, the national anthem is jana gana mana and hockey is the national sport. What if I tell you that hockey was never our national sport? What if I tell you that we don’t have a national sport? Surprised? But it’s true. Hockey wasn’t the national sport officially and India hasn’t recognized a particular sport as a ‘National Sport’. So why you, like any other Indian citizen, were told that hockey is the national game?

This shocking fact has been confirmed by the Sports Ministry of India. The reality came forward when a 12-year-old girl, Aishwarya Parashar filed an RTI under the RTI Act, 2005, to the Prime Minister and requested the evidence and files that prove that Hockey has been declared as India’s national sport. When the request was forwarded to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, they replied by saying that they don’t have any evidence because Hockey was never recognized as a national sport officially.

This blew my mind away. If it’s not the national sport, then why were we taught this? The odds for this situation can be justified by saying that hockey was dominant in India back then. When India won its first gold medal in 1928, hockey brought fame in the house. India won 6 gold medals in the Olympics from 1928 to 1956. Therefore, hockey dominated the most in the country. But when it was defeated by Pakistan in 1960, it lost its significance. Since then it has been nothing but a great disappointment to the country. So basically, its stardom was due to the initial success. This doesn’t justify the criteria according to which India assumed hockey to be the national sport. Till now, India hasn’t changed or I should say declared the official national sport. When Indian hockey players became aware of this fact, they were shocked as they believed that they brought pride to the national sport of the country.

In addition to the argument, India has diverse cultures and every culture follows different sports. In West Bengal, football is prominent. Kabaddi, the game which we have been playing since childhood, is also followed in many parts of the country. India won the first edition of the Circle Style Kabaddi World Cup, Beating rival Pakistan in a 58–24 victory. Cricket has been in the limelight since India won the world cup in 1983. Cricket lovers could then be sighted in every corner of India and the craze is still prevailing far and wide. Even today, people are high on world cup fever and stick to their TVs whenever match comes up irrespective of the countries playing. Cricket is the only sport then the country tends to love it, adore it and respect it so passionately.

Till the time India figures out its national sport, celebrate India’s win in ICC Cricket World Cup! And, if next time someone says that it’s a shame that India doesn’t pay respect to its national sport hockey; stop them right there and tell them that India doesn’t have a national sport. Our textbooks have been lying to us since class 1st!!!!