5 Most Underrated Sports in India

|By Vanshaj Singh|

India is a country which got introduced to various sports from other different countries and also where many sports took origin. Of these, some sports acquired widespread acclaim and fame throughout the country while some of them didn’t manage to be as popular as Cricket and Football. Some sports remained “not-so-popular” for a long time but in recent years, have started getting recognition in the country, Kabaddi being one. So let’s have a look at some games which although are played in India but deserve more demand and attention from Indian sports enthusiasts.

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net and each team tries to score points by grounding the ball on the other team’s court under organized rules. Originated in Holyoke, Massachusetts, this game surely is played widely throughout the country and also quite famous but it didn’t get much demand and acclaim. It surely is slowly attaining popularity but still deserves more demand and coverage.

Mallakambh

A sport which is believed to be originated during the 12th century from the Indian subcontinent, Mallakambh is the Indian version of gymnastics combined with martial arts. It consists of a gymnast who performs aerial yoga postures and wrestling grips in concert with a vertical pole, cane or rope. Mallakambh doesn’t stand in comparison with the other mainstream sports but has managed to attain some growing interest among our citizens. On April 9, 2013, Madhya Pradesh declared Mallakambh the state sport.

Sepak Takraw

Part Volleyball, part Football. Introducing to you Sepak Takraw. Played by thousands in South East Asia, unknown to millions. The game originated in Malaysia and has now spread throughout the globe. The sport of Foot-Volleyball is similar to Volleyball but players use their feet, knee, and chest and head to carry a rattan ball over the net. In the last six seasons of the King’s Cup Sepak Takraw World Championship, India has been constantly performing exceptionally and ranked 8th in terms of medal tally among different participants.

The sport is yet to find itself a spot in the Olympics but if it does qualify, India will no doubt have another sport which will have the capability to win a podium spot for the athletes.

Rugby

From the sheer power and calculated strategic moves in Kabaddi to the stamina and endurance in Football, Indian athletes have been excelling in sports that demand the test of character and willpower. One such sport which falls in the same category of virtues is the sport of catch, pass, and run – Rugby. As of March 2018, India is currently ranked 80th out of the 105 participating nations. These rankings do not justify the country’s involvement and potential in the sport. Though India has never played in a Rugby World Cup, it deserves as well as contains the potential to popularize this game.

Squash

For a long time, Squash has been considered a recreational sport. But in recent times, it has been gaining popularity as a competitive sport as well. Dipika Pallikal, Joshna Chinappa, Saurav Ghosal and Ritwik Bhattacharya are the ones who have been the flag –bearers of this game and the ones holding the mantle of this sport for a long time. Over 20 million athletes play squash in 185 countries but Squash is still not an Olympic sport. Nevertheless, India has been slowly gaining supremacy in this sport from 2014 which is laudable. India has also recently announced the inception of the Indian Premier Squash League to promote young talent and compete against international players. These initiatives justify why Squash is no more an evening work out but a thing of national pride and deserves to get its recognition and promotion.

So to conclude these are the sports I feel are comparatively underrated in India which deserve to be more talked about, recognized and promoted along with just Cricket and football. From the above-mentioned sports, some have already been successful in paving a new path for themselves while some still need to get their identity known.