What is the national sport of India?
by Pinky Khanna 
Cricket! Cricket! Cricket!
What’s so good about it that the Indians (mostly living in India) don’t want to encourage any other sport?
Of course there are some who do like sports other than cricket, but are not encouraged or appreciated enough.
For example, hockey (which happens to be the “national sport” of the country) has barely received any recognition over the years.
A most the kids in India’s primary schools may come across hockey as the national sport from their general knowledge books.
I remember going through that confusing time where I, as an 8-year-old, had a strong mind frame about cricket being the national sport of my country because that was all I had ever seen people play and enjoy.
So what’s all the fuss about?
I mean, the two sports do have a lot of strange similarities. For instance:
· They were both introduced by the British in the colonial days.
· India ranks 8th in World Hockey and 6th in World Cricket.
· Both sports have given the country world-recognised heroes such as Kapil Dev (for Cricket) and Dhyan Chand (for Hockey).
Why the discrimination?
Why is cricket a matter of life and death for Indians (including myself), while hockey is just another Olympic game?
Why do Indian cricket players each receive thousands of dollars from their politicians (most of it being tax payers’ money) for winning the Twenty20 cup, while the hockey team is expected to share a thousand dollars reward amongst each other for winning the Asia Cup?… and if they do want some attention, they need to go on a hunger strike.
Yes, there has been some effort towards encouraging the national sport through movies like Chak De India which is about the Indian Women’s International Hockey team trying to gain recognition and permission to play the Hockey World Cup. The team’s coach – played by the famous Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan – helps the team achieve its goals in the movie.
The star, however, has been seen at a lot of cricket matches, encouraging the team but has never been spotted at a hockey match (nor has any other Indian celebrity). This has been the case since the 1900s, when Mahatma Gandhi was asked if he would give funds to the Olympic hockey team, his reply was: “What is Hockey?”
It’s still hard to answer these questions as there is probably no correct answer. It is simply a matter of choice I guess. And most of us chose to watch, encourage and enjoy cricket.
But what gives us the right to discriminate the other sports. Why are young men and women in India often not encouraged and supported by their families, Government and fellow citizens to play any other sport, especially Hockey?
These are the questions that remain a mystery to me.
I reckon Indians have cricket in the blood. I’ve faced unplayable twisting leg spinners at 150kmph from Indian friends who swear they’ve never played in their lives.