Sport

A sport is an organized, competitive, entertaining, and skillful activity requiring commitment, strategy, and fair play, in which a winner can be defined by objective means. Generally speaking, a sport is a game based in physical athleticism. Activities such as board games and card games are sometimes classified as "mind sports," but strictly speaking "sport" by itself refers to some physical activity. Non-competitive activities may also qualify, for example though jogging or playing catch are usually classified as forms of recreation, they may also be informally called "sports" due to their similarity to competitive games.

Sports are governed by a set of rules or customs. Physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first often define the result of a sport. However, the degree of skill and performance in some sports such as diving, dressage and figure skating is judged according to well-defined criteria. This is in contrast with other judged activities such as beauty pageants and body building, where skill does not have to be shown and the criteria are not as well defined.

Records are kept and updated for most sports at the highest levels, while failures and accomplishments are widely announced in sport news. Sports are most often played just for fun or for the simple fact that people need exercise to stay in good physical condition. However, professional sport is a major source of entertainment.

While practices may vary, sports participants are expected to display good sportsmanship, and observe standards of conduct such as being respectful of opponents and officials, and congratulating the winner when losing

source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport

cricket

Cricket has a long history in India and is the most popular sport by a wide margin in India. Recently, it won the 2011 Cricket World Cup by defeating Sri Lanka in the final match hosted by India. played on local, national and international levels and enjoys consistent support from people in all parts of India. Its development has been closely tied up with the history of the country, mirroring many of the political and cultural developments around issues such as Caste, Religion and Nationality. The highest profile rival of the Indian cricket team is the Pakistan team. Cricket is the most popular Sport in India, but it is not the nation's official national Sport (a distinction held by Field Hockey). The governing body, BCCI, was formed in December 1928.It is headed by Shashank Manohar

The India national cricket team won the 1983 Cricket World Cup the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, 2011 Cricket World Cup and shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka. Domestic competitions include the Ranji Trophy, the Duleep Trophy, the Deodhar Trophy, the Irani Trophy and the Challenger Series. In addition, BCCI conducts the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 competition.

football

Association football was introduced to India during the British occupation and in some areas of the country it is equally as popular as Cricket. India was an Asian powerhouse in the 1960s, finishing as runners up in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup, but gradually the standard of Football has gone down compared to other countries and India currently ranks 144 in the FIFA rankings as of 20 August 2010. The sport is, nevertheless, widely popular both as a spectator Sport and as a participation Sport and is controlled by the national team. The Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata is the second largest non-auto racing stadium in the world.

On the 23 June 1937 at the Army Headquarters, Shimla, the All India Football Federation was formed at a meeting of the representatives of Football Associations of 6 regions where the game was very popular in those days. It is the present body of Football in India.

chess

Chess has risen in popularity in India in the last few decades primarily due to its star player GM Vishwanathan Anand. He is the current World Champion and he has revolutionized the popularity of this Sport in India.

It is believed that the game originated from India as a successor to Chaturanga or Shatranj. The All India Chess Federation is the governing body of Chess in India.

tennis

Tennis is a popular sport among Indians in urban areas. Tennis gained popularity after the exploits of Vijay Amritraj. India's fortunes in the Grand Slams singles have been unimpressive although Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have won many Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles Grand Slam Titles. Sania Mirza is the only notable Indian woman Tennis player, having won a WTA title and breaking in to the Top 30 WTA rankings. On the men's side, young Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri are flying India's flag on ATP Tour. Yuki is the current Australian Open junior singles champion.

Boxing is one of the most enjoyable profiled sports in India. India has not produced a world champion in any weight class, although it is a regular medal-holder at Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. In November 2007, India's Mary Kom won the best boxer title and also secured a hattrick of titles. 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. Akhil Kumar, Jitender Kumar, A.L.Lakra and Dinesh Kumar each won a bronze medal at the 2008 world championship. Vijender Kumar is current world number 1 on middleweight class.

kabaddi

Kabaddi is a popular sport in India. It is one of the most popular sports in India played mainly among people in villages. It is regarded as a team-contact sport as a recreational form of combat training. Two teams occupy opposite halves of a small field and take turns sending a raider into the other half, in order to win points by tagging/wrestling members of the opposing team; the raider then tries to return to his own half while holding his breath and chanting "kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi" during the whole raid. India has taken part in four Asian Games in Kabaddi, and won gold in all of them. There are 4 forms of kabaddi played in India are Amar, Suranjeevi, Huttuttoo and Gaminee. Amar is generally played in Punjab, America, Canada, and other parts of the world mostly by Panjabi sportmen. Suranjeevi is the most played form of Kabaddi in India and the world, This is the form used in international matches generally and played in Asian Games. Huttuttoo was played by men in Maharashtra State. Huttuttoo is a much Tougher version of Kabaddi.

India won the Kabaddi World Championship in 2007 beating 29-19.

motorsports

Motorsport is a popular Spectator Sport in India, although there are relatively few competitors compared to other sports due to the high costs of competing. On 1 February 2005, Narain Karthikeyan became India's first Formula One racing driver. On March 2007, he also became the first ever Indian-born driver to compete in a NASCAR Series. He debuted in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in the Kroger 250. Force India F1 is a Formula One motor racing team. The team was formed in October 2007, when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol bought the Spyker F1 team for € 88 million. After going through 29 races without a point, Force India won their first Formula One World Championship points and podium place when Giancarlo Fisichella finished second in the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix. New Delhi is scheduled to host the Indian Grand Prix in 2011 at Jaypee Group Circuit in Greater Noida, 50 km from New Delhi. Karun Chandhok currently drives for the Hispania Racing in 2010 Formula One season.

sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is an attitude that strives for fair play, courtesy toward teammates and opponents, ethical behaviour and integrity, and grace in victory or defeat.


Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. The well-known sentiment by sports journalist Grantland Rice, that it's “not that you won or lost but how you played the game", and the modern Olympic creed expressed by its founder Pierre de Coubertin: "The most important thing... is not winning but taking part" are typical expressions of this sentiment.

Violence in sports involves crossing the line between fair competition and intentional aggressive violence. Athletes, coaches, fans, and parents sometimes unleash violent behaviour on people or property, in misguided shows of loyalty, dominance, anger, or celebration. Rioting or hooliganism are common and ongoing problems at national and international sporting contests.