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Handball in India is a fast-paced team sport played by two teams of seven players each (six outfield players and one goalkeeper), aiming to throw a ball into the opponent's goal while preventing the other team from doing the same. The game is played on a 40x20 meter court, with matches consisting of two 30-minute halves. Introduced in the early 1970s by Jagat Singh Chauhan, an alumnus of the YMCA College of Physical Education in Madras (now Chennai), the sport has grown steadily. The Handball Association of India (HAI), formerly the Handball Federation of India (HFI), governs the sport and is affiliated with the Asian Handball Federation (AHF) and International Handball Federation (IHF). Founded in 1971 in Rohtak, Haryana, HAI oversees 43 member units, over 4,500 registered players, and nearly 400 officials.

Indian badminton has grown tremendously over the past two decades, evolving from a niche sport to a powerhouse on the global stage. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) governs the sport, organizing national tournaments and supporting international participation. India has produced world-class players who have won Olympic medals, World Championships, and major BWF titles. The sport's popularity surged with stars like Saina Nehwal (first Indian to win an Olympic badminton medal in 2012) and PV Sindhu (back-to-back Olympic medals in 2016 and 2020). Men's singles has seen talents like Kidambi Srikanth (former World No. 1) and HS Prannoy, while doubles pairs like Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have dominated recent years, including a historic Thomas Cup win for India in 2022.

Badminton traces its roots to ancient games like battledore and shuttlecock, evolving in 19th-century British India into its modern form, with formalized rules by 1877 and Olympic status since 1992. It blends accessibility with high-intensity play, making it suitable for all ages.

With an estimated 709 million fans worldwide, badminton ranks as the third most followed sport after football and basketball, boasting around 220 million regular players, predominantly in Asia. Research suggests it may surge in popularity among younger demographics like Gen Z, driven by its low barriers to entry and health perks.

Dominated by Asian nations like China and Indonesia, with stars like Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei setting records. While thrilling, the sport faces critiques for limited global diversity and occasional scoring debates to enhance excitement.

From 7th February 2026 Men's T20 World Cup will start with 20 teams across the globe . While 4 groups will be there consisting of 5 teams in each group . Pakistan will take on Netherland on the very first match in Colombo , while arch rivals India will take on Pakistan on 15th February 2026 . As a defending champion , everybody will have focus on team India's performance 🏏

This coming June FIFA World Cup will take place in USA , Mexico and Canada . Total 48 football playing nation will take part in the biggest show on earth . People from India will also go and watch the live matches as they are football crazy . Around 4 billion people around the globe will watch the sports extravaganza digitally ⚽

I love to watch all kinds of sports events including football, cricket and tennis. I try to find out broadcasting of new sports events. Was watching extremely interesting fights between our two state teams for Federation Cup of Handball. There is no reason why people would not find entertainment in these games. It brought a new question in my mind. Do the associations organising Handball or Kho Kho etc., thinking innovatively as to how to popularise these sports or bring those to common people! These can at least be streamed across media and advertised properly!

Although Indian cricket started way back more than half a century years ago but it came to limelight in 1983 under the captaincy of Mr Kapil Dev when India crowned the champions of ICC Men's Cricket World Cup at Lords , England . Then under the captaincy of Mr Sourav Ganguly in 2003 , although lost the final match against Australia in ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and also in recent times 2023 under the leadership of Mr Rohit Sharma , India again lost the final match against Australia in ICC Men's World Cup , even after an unbeaten run all through the tournament , hosted by India . Also India won ICC t20 Men's World Cup twice in 2007 and 2024. But in 2011 when India triumphed 2nd time the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup it was an ecstacy to watch out for , relishing my childhood dream as…

Although India ranks 142 in FIFA Men's ranking till date but still the charm of football enthusiasts is not diminishing but its increasing in India day by day . And I think its urgent for Government of India to cope with the international standards with immediate effect to scale up football infrastructure in India , with every football ground enabled with VAR technology . AIFF , IFA and other football governing bodies need to step up the gear for this purpose . If India can win ICC Cricket World cup , then why not FIFA World Cup in future days . Moreover, I don't think India with 144 Crore population can not achieve this milestone as the country is the most emerging nation in the world from technological aspects to economical aspects.

Indian population below 10 years of age is roughly 25 crores and that below 18 years of age is roughly 45 crores. So population from which sports talents are scouted, from 10 to 18 years of age, is 20 crores. Though more than 20% of them play one or the other game, if we consider that 0.1% of them are seriously perusing it to become a sports person, the number comes to at least 200,000! Government nurtures only 10,000 of them at various facilities across the Nation. With this budget and far sightedness(!), can we build ourselves as a sporting Nation?