Games and Sports in the World

Best Indoor Games and Sports in the World

Top five

1.KABADDI

Having its origins in ancient India, Kabaddi is also the national sport of Bangladesh. It is an extremely popular sport in South-East Asia and has gained widespread intional limelight. The 11th Asian Games held in Beijing, China (1990)ernational acceptance. It was during the SAF Games in Dhaka, 1985 that Kabaddi shot into internat

saw Kabaddi being introduced for the first time and has been held regularly ever since. Played over a 45-minute stretch with a gap of 5 minutes in between, Kabaddi also witnesses a World Cup competition of which India is the current champion. Highly physical with a similarity to wrestling, Kabaddi is being further propagated through the Pro-Kabaddi League in India.

2. BOWLING

To a layman this game might seem like a childish indulgence- getting hold of a humongous ball just to knock over ten odd-shaped pins at the end of an alley h

ardly qualifies as a game, eh? Wrong. The sport of bowling has been accepted and is played by over 95 million people across the world, spanning more than 90 countries. Its roots are in Ancient Egypt (discovered from remains by Sir Flinders Petrie) and also the Roman Empire where the people used husk balls, leather balls, etc.  Pin bowling, as it is known today (with 10-pin, 9-pin and even 5-pin variations), was first established in New York in 1895. Besides providing a fun evening out, bowling gives plenty of exercise for the human body and helps in strengthening of muscles, burning fat, etc.

3.BILLIARDS

A general term used for Carambole Billiards, this is the most popular game from the family of billiards (others include three-cushion billiards, pool, etc). It is believed to have its origins in France in the late 1700s. The carambole billiard game (most popu

lar in the family) has a very simple objective- a point is scored (known as count) when the cue ball hits both the object balls in a single stroke. As soon as a preset number of points is reached the winner is decided. Other variations of billiards include limited-rail billiards, balkline billiards, cushion carom, three-cushion billiards, etc.

4.SQUASH

This is a racquet and ball sport that can be played by two (singles) or four (doubles) players. The name squash comes from the softness of the ball that is used in the game. Harrow school is recognized with the invention and popularization of t

his game which used racquets similar to, but a lot lighter than, those used in tennis. The rules of the game have undergone a lot of changes over time. According to the conventional scoring system, the first player to reach 9 points is declared the winner of the game. If the score line, however, reads 8-8 then the player who reached 8 first gets to decide whether the game will be played to 9 or played to 10. However, according to the current accepted scoring system, games are played to 11 and must be reached keeping a difference of 2 in order to win. According to the World Squash Federation, England is the country with the highest number of squash courts in the world. Jahangir Khan of Pakistan is widely considered to be the greatest player of the game.

5.TABLE TENNIS

Analogous to its outdoor counterpart, table tennis can be

played by two players (singles) or by four (doubles). The rules of the game, however, are slightly different. The service must be done in a way so as to make the ball drop once in one’s own half of the board and once in the opponent’s half, and thereafter in the opponent’s half only. In doubles, the rally is continued by players alternating among themselves thus adding an extra dimension of challenge to this extremely fast game; also, in doubles, the service is done diagonally between opposite sections of the board! This game originated n England in the late 1800s where it was played mostly by the elite class as a post-meal game. Owing to the sound of the ball being hit to-and-fro between the racquets, this game is also known as ping-pong. The first ever table tennis World Championships was hosted by London in 1926. With 2 World Championships and a World Cup title to his name, Jan-Ove Waldner is considered as one of the finest players of this game.