India is famous throughout the world for its diversity in food, culture, language, architecture, sports etc. Ancient India has a vibrant cultural history, including a variety of traditional sports. There were improvements in these traditional sports from time to time, but even today these traditional sports are quite popular and these sports attract people due to their health benefits and their historical importance.
A variety of traditional games passed down for generations, their rules, strategies, history and fun facts make them much more than just recreational activities.
In ancient times, people of India used to take training in wrestling, fencing, chariot racing, stool fighting, javelin throwing, swimming etc. for physical development. Remains of all these games are also known in Harappa and Mohenjodaro.
Martial arts were first developed in India. After that it was spread throughout Asia through the propagation of Buddhism.
Let us know about the top five ancient Indian sports which originated in India and which are followed even today:
1. Kabaddi – Kabaddi is recognized as the native game of India. This game is known as Hu Tu Tu in the eastern part of India, while in South India it is known as Chedugudu. This game originated in India. This game teaches self-defense and hunting skills. According to the information found in the copper plate, Kabaddi was played by Lord Krishna and his companions in the Dwapar era. Kabaddi has become very popular in the present times. In view of this, Pro Kabaddi League was started in 2014 and now its nine seasons have been successfully completed. The national game of Bangladesh is Kabaddi and it is a popular traditional game in South Asia. India is the first and only champion of Kabaddi to have won the All Kabaddi World Cup six times since its first edition in 2004.
2. Mallakhamb- Mallakhamb originated in the 12th century as a training exercise for wrestlers and warriors. Malkhamb is derived from “Malla,” meaning wrestler, and “Khamb,” meaning pole. In Malkhamb, participants demonstrate strength, flexibility and balance. Mallakhamb involves performing acrobatic and gymnastic activities on a vertical wooden pole or hanging rope. Malkhamb has got the global attention after its performance in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
3. Wrestling – Wrestling is still very much loved by the audience. The expanded form of wrestling is WWE, NXT. Earlier wrestling was played as a means of entertainment, it is a very old game. This game had many benefits for physical and mental development. Shaivanti saints of India have been playing this game since ancient times. By playing this game the players’ bodies became stronger.
4.Archery – Archery was first introduced in India. In ancient times, there used to be a Veda in India by the name of Dhanurveda. In which all the arts were explained in detail. Recently, India had won 10 medals – one gold, four silver and five bronze – in the archery competitions in the Asian Games held in Hangzhou. Rajat Chauhan, Sandeep Kumar and Abhishek Verma won the gold medal in the men’s compound team at Incheon 2014.
5. Kho-Kho – One of the oldest forms of field games is Kho-Kho. The main objective of this game was also to develop self-defense attack skills.