Sports in India

The history of sports in India is very ancient and dates back to the Vedic era. It is more likely that many of today's Olympic disciplines are advanced versions of games of strength and speed that flourished in ancient India. Chess, wrestling, polo, archery and hockey (possibly a fall-out from polo) are some of the games believed to have originated in India. 
Following are the some of games played in India

1. Gilli-Danda: It is a sport played using one small stick called 'gilli' and one long stick called 'danda' like cricket with ball being replaced by Gilli. This games is generally played in villages of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana etc states of India.
2. Kancha: It is played using marbles called 'kancha' in India in cities as well as in villages also. The festival of 'Makar Sankranti' is marked with competitions of this sport in various competitions.
3. Badminton: Badminton is a very popular sport in India. Badminton is supposed to have originated in India 2000 years ago.
4. Bandy: India is having a Bandy team and Bandy Federation of India takes care of it. It's headquarters are in Himachal Pradesh. Bandy is generally played in northern India where there is generally snow and ice.
5. Boxing: Boxing is not so populated game in India. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Vijender Kumar won a bronze medal in the middleweight boxing category and Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar qualified for the quarterfinals.
6. Cricket: Cricket is the most popular sport in India. India won the 1983 Cricket World Cup under Kapil Dev and finished as runner-up in the 2003 World Cup under Sourav Ganguly.
7. Cycling: This history of cycling in India dates back to 1938. Cycling Federation of India takes care of the sport.
8. Golf: Golf is an emerging sport in India. It is more popular in wealthier classes than the middle class and poor class peoples in India. There are numerous golf courses all over India. There is an Golf Tour. India's men's golf team won silver at the 2006 Asian Games.