World famous games that came from India | Fusion - WeRIndia

A common love for sports is one of the things that can bring people together from all over the world. Every culture has a history of various activities that are played during leisure time.

These would range from physical sports for fun, exercise, and training to strategy games that required players to think carefully and use their wits.

Many people may be surprised to learn that several of the world’s most popular sports today have their origins in India.

These are some sports that originated on the Indian subcontinent which are currently popular and well-loved all over the globe.

Chess, known for its intricate rules and mind-bending strategy, has a history of about 1,500 years. The earliest predecessors of chess can be traced back to India, when it was called “chaturanga”. This name roughly translates to “four divisions of the military”.

It became extremely popular in India in the 6th century, which was during the Gupta Empire. Persians and Arabians who traded with India took it out of the subcontinent and spread it around the world. Today, India has a total of 37 chess grandmasters.

Polo is a game played on horseback between two teams, each consisting of four players. The players use long, flexible mallets to punt a wooden ball down a grass field between two goal posts. Polo is the oldest equestrian sport, having originated in Manipur.

British military officers and tea planters founded the Silchar Polo Club in 1859, after Lieutenant Joe Sherer saw the locals playing the equestrian game. He decided that the British had to learn this sport. Thus, polo was brought out of India and into the rest of the world.

Badminton originated during the British era in Pune. At the time, the game was known as Poonah or Poona. The first official rules of badminton were drawn up in Pune in 1873. The game originated from the merging of two other games, battledore and shuttlecock.

Its current name, badminton, was derived from the Badminton House in Gloucestershire, owned by the Duke of Beaufort. India has had several badminton champions, both male and female, such as Prakash Padukone and Saina Nehwal.

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