A school teacher from Dhule district in Maharashtra filed an RTI in 2020 asking, “What is the national game of India?” The answer he got from the Youth and Sports Ministry will change your perception of the National game of India from childhood.
Many of us have been taught in school or at home that Jana Gana Mana is our National Anthem, the peacock is our national bird, the Bengal Tiger is our national animal, the King Cobra is our National reptile, and the Indian lotus is our National flower.
In the same way, many of us were told or taught that Hockey is India’s national game or sport, but it was a myth.
Also read- When, Why, And How The Cricket World Cup Started in 1975. Why no one expected it
But you will be surprised to know that India never had a national game or sport, and neither has it now. Often, Newspapers or media houses publish articles about the poor condition of hockey most of the time, their headlines are something like ” Why Our National Sports Is…”.
But today, it may surprise you that India never had a national game.
India is diverse and has many popular games in different regions. Cricket is the most popular sport in India and is also the highest-paying.
After the 1983 World Cup, cricket gained so much popularity that it almost left no space for other sports to take their share.
Football is a famous sport in Northeast India and West Bengal, where people follow the game religiously. Hockey is still popular in some parts of Odisha, Jharkhand, and Punjab. Sports like Khoko or Kabaddi are also popular in some parts of India.
India is called a country of such diversity, not without a reason. Like in each state or province you will find different languages, dress, food, etc. Similarly, the interest in sports is also different in other provinces of India.
How many Countries have a National Game
Only 16 countries worldwide have national sports that are recognized by their laws. And 47 countries have national sports that are not recognized by their laws.
But India’s name is missing from both such lists. That is, there are no national sports in India. And field hockey or hockey, which we consider to be our national sport, is not the national sport of India but our neighbouring Pakistan. However, it has not yet been legally recognized in Pakistan’s law.
What is the national game of India if not Hockey
Not only in 2020, but even before this, many times, people had also filed an RTI and asked the Sports Minister for data about our national sports. In response, the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry replied that our country officially does not have any national sports.
Just like in 2020, in 2012, Aishwarya Parashar, a 10-year-old girl, had put up an RTI query and asked if hockey was our national game. Then, the reply came from the Ministry of Youth Affairs that there is no official national game in India.
In 2016 a man named Chirag Jogani also filed a similar RTI to know our national game. In return, he got an answer from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sport that India has no national game.
How this Perception Started that Hockey Is Our National Game
However, the British introduced the initial version of modern-day field hockey during the late 18th and early 19th centuries in India. It began as a popular school game and eventually made its way to the Indian army during British occupation in the 1850s.
Hockey rapidly became the sport of choice among children and youths in India due to the availability of huge land as playing fields and the simplicity of equipment. The country’s first hockey club was created in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1855.
In the first three Olympics (1928, 1932, and 1936), Major Dhyan Chand was among the biggest reasons for India to rule the hockey field and was known as the Magician in the Hockey field.
Indian team played in the 1928 Olympics under the captaincy of Jaipal Singh Munda and the 1932 Olympics under Lal Shah Bokhari. In 1936, India played under the captaincy of Major Dhyan Chand.
The Olympics in 1940 and 1944 did not take place because of the World War, and they only returned in 1948. Independent India saw a new star on the hockey field: Balbir Singh Sr. India again won three Gold medals in a row.
This was the era when India dominated the field of hockey, and because of this, many people got the impression that hockey was the national sport of our country.
Between 1928 and 1956, India won six consecutive gold medals in hockey at the Olympics. In the Rome Olympics in 1960, India lost to Pakistan in the final. But again, in 1964, India won the gold medal by defeating their arch-rival Pakistan by 0-1 goals and took the revenge of 1960.
Medals By the Indian Hockey Team in the Olympics
| Year | Olympic Place | Medal |
| 1928 | Amsterdam | Gold |
| 1932 | LA, USA | Gold |
| 1936 | Berlin, Germany | Gold |
| 1948 | London, UK | Gold |
| 1952 | Helsinki, Finland | Gold |
| 1956 | Melbourne, Aus | Gold |
| 1960 | Rome, Italy | Silver |
| 1964 | Tokyo, Japan | Gold |
| 1968 | Mexico City, Mexico | Bronze |
| 1972 | Munich, West Germany | Bronze |
| 1976 | Montreal, Canada | 7th |
| 1980 | Moscow, Russia | Gold |
| 1984 | LA, USA | 5th |
| 1988 | Seoul, South Korea | 6th |
| 1992 | Barcelona, Spain | 7th |
| 1996 | Atlanta, USA | 8th |
| 2000 | Sydney, Australia | 7th |
| 2004 | Athens, Greece | 7th |
| 2012 | London, UK | 12th |
| 2016 | Rio de Janerio, Brazil | 8th |
In 2018, before the Hockey Men’s World Cup, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to declare Hockey as the national game.
Many sections of the sports society welcomed the step, but the central government has not declared Hockey the national game.
Dear PM @narendramodi ji, you will agree with crores of hockey loving fans of our country that Hockey truly deserves to be notified as our National Game. This will be a fitting tribute to our great players & inspire youngsters #HockeyForNationalGame 1/4 https://t.co/oTGcrHxO9U pic.twitter.com/X7E7jrlWOo
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) June 20, 2018
School children still get confused about what the national game of India is, but according to the government, India does not have a National game.
FAQs:
Is hockey national game of India?
No, Hockey or precisely field Hockey is not the national game of India.
What is the national game of India?
India does not officially have a national game.
Hockey is the national game of which country?
Hockey is the national game of Pakistan, though it has yet to be adopted by their law.
Is Kabaddi the national game of India?
No, Kabaddi is not India’s national game. Kabaddi is the national game of Bangladesh.
Which is national game of China?
The national game of China is Ping Pong or Table tennis.
How many Indian hockey gold medal achieved?
India has achieved 8 Olympic gold medals till now.
What is the present position of hockey in India with respect to popularity and importance?
The present position of Hockey is not as good as it was in early 2000. The prime reason is the rise in popularity of Cricket and the money associated with it. After Sahara’s sponsorship ended in 2017, Indian Hockey found it hard to get a sponsor, which is when Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik came to the rescue. Odisha signed a sponsorship agreement for both men’s and women’s hockey teams for a sum of around 150 Crore. The current amount is more than 3 times what Sahara paid.
Cricket is the national game of which country?
Cricket is England’s national game, and the country is credited for the invention of the game.