60-second revision
- Durand Cup (football, 1888, Shimla) is Asia's oldest existing club football tournament.
- Thomas Cup = men's badminton teams; Uber Cup = women's; Sudirman Cup = mixed. India won the Thomas Cup in 2022.
- Players on field: kabaddi 7, kho-kho 9, volleyball 6, basketball 5, polo 4.
- Olympic motto since 2021: Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter. IOC is based in Lausanne.
- India's first Olympic hockey gold: Amsterdam 1928. First individual gold: Abhinav Bindra, 10 m air rifle, 2008.
- K.D. Jadhav (wrestling, 1952) was independent India's first individual Olympic medallist.
- Grand Slam surfaces: Wimbledon grass, French Open clay, US and Australian Opens hard court.
- Mihir Sen (1958) was the first Indian to swim the English Channel; Arati Saha (1959) the first Asian woman.
Trophies and their sports
| Trophy | Sport | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Durand Cup | Football | Started 1888 at Shimla; Asia's oldest existing club tournament |
| Santosh Trophy | Football | National championship between state teams |
| Subroto Cup | Football | Inter-school tournament |
| Ranji Trophy | Cricket | First-class championship, started 1934 |
| Irani Cup | Cricket | Ranji champion versus Rest of India |
| Duleep Trophy | Cricket | First-class zonal competition |
| Vijay Hazare / Syed Mushtaq Ali | Cricket | Domestic one-day / T20 competitions |
| Beighton Cup | Hockey | Kolkata tournament |
| Thomas / Uber / Sudirman Cup | Badminton | Men's / women's / mixed team championships |
| Davis Cup / Billie Jean King Cup | Tennis | Men's / women's international team events |
| Ryder Cup | Golf | Europe versus the United States |
| Stanley Cup | Ice hockey | Championship of North America's NHL |
Players per side
| Sport | On field / court |
|---|---|
| Cricket, football, hockey | 11 |
| Kho-kho | 9 (chasing side) |
| Kabaddi, netball, water polo | 7 |
| Volleyball | 6 |
| Basketball | 5 |
| Polo | 4 |
Terms that point to a sport
| Sport | Typical terms |
|---|---|
| Cricket | Googly, LBW, silly point, maiden over, follow-on |
| Chess | Castling, checkmate, stalemate, en passant |
| Golf | Birdie, eagle, bogey, caddie, tee |
| Tennis | Deuce, love, ace, advantage |
| Kabaddi | Raid, do-or-die raid, lona (all-out bonus) |
| Football | Offside, penalty kick, free kick |
| Boxing | Jab, uppercut, knockout |
Olympic basics
- The International Olympic Committee was founded in Paris in 1894 at the initiative of Pierre de Coubertin; it is now based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Olympic Day, 23 June, marks its founding.
- The first modern Olympics were held in Athens in 1896; the first Winter Games were at Chamonix in 1924.
- The five rings (blue, yellow, black, green, red on a white background) represent the union of the five continents.
- The motto 'Citius, Altius, Fortius' (Faster, Higher, Stronger) gained 'Communiter' (Together) in July 2021.
India's sporting firsts
| Year | First |
|---|---|
| 1900 | Norman Pritchard wins two athletics silvers at Paris, representing India |
| 1928 | First Olympic hockey gold, Amsterdam |
| 1951 | First Asian Games held in New Delhi |
| 1952 | K.D. Jadhav, wrestling bronze at Helsinki: independent India's first individual Olympic medal |
| 1958 | Mihir Sen becomes the first Indian to swim the English Channel |
| 1959 | Arati Saha becomes the first Asian woman to swim the English Channel |
| 1983 | India wins the Cricket World Cup under Kapil Dev |
| 1988 | Viswanathan Anand becomes India's first chess Grandmaster |
| 2000 | Karnam Malleswari, weightlifting bronze: first Indian woman Olympic medallist |
| 2008 | Abhinav Bindra, 10 m air rifle: first individual Olympic gold |
| 2021 | Neeraj Chopra, javelin at the Tokyo 2020 Games: first Olympic gold in athletics |
| 2022 | India wins the Thomas Cup for the first time |
Venues and surfaces
- Cricket grounds: Eden Gardens (Kolkata), Wankhede (Mumbai), M.A. Chidambaram or Chepauk (Chennai), Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera (Ahmedabad), Lord's (London, 'home of cricket').
- Tennis Grand Slams: Australian Open (Melbourne, hard), French Open (Roland Garros, Paris, clay), Wimbledon (London, grass), US Open (New York, hard).
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