5 sports you probably didn't know India had a national team in

With immense coverage of cricket, football and other common sports in our country, have you ever wondered how many different sports are really being played in India?Yes, there are some rare games that are being played and it's rather surprising to find out that these games have national teams representing our country and excelling. But what’s more surprising is that we don’t even know of the existence of such sports.Forget about the condition of the players who represent our country, the people of our country have no idea about the names of such sports, which is a bit of a shame for us because these sportsmen love what they do! Let’s have a look at 5 such “uncommon” sports in which India has a fully functioning national team:

#1 Cycle Polo

This sport is exactly the same as the regular Polo game, but except for the horses, the players are on cycles.

Cycle Polo is one of the least known games that is being played in India. It hasn’t had much recognition but has been certified by the government and is funded wholely by them.

A team also represents the country for various world championships, and in the 8 World Championships, the Indian team has had an excellent record, winning 4 golds and 2 Bronze medals.

They have put up a good winning streak, but do we know about it?

#2 Shooting Ball

Shooting Ball is a sport very similar to volleyball except for some changes in the rules – mainly, the use of loose and open fingers not being allowed. The number of players on each side is 7.

The first World Cup was played in Delhi in 1992 with teams from India, Pakistan, Uk and Canada, which our country won.

Again a not so common sport we can think of, but the government supported and funded the game in 2013-14 with an amount of 14.2 lakh!

#3 Roll Ball

Roll Ball is a combination of two sports, skating and basketball. Essentially, you roll with the skates and score baskets or goals with your hands.

It is not as easy as it sounds. This game was invented by Raju Dhabade, a senior secondary sports teacher, who is now the secretary of International Roll Ball Federation.

The game is played between two teams of 12 players each, out of these 12 only 6 are allowed to play on the court.

There have been two World Cups so far, the first one being in India in 2011 and the second one in 2013 in Kenya. The Indian team have been crowned the champions in both the World Cups so far!

#4 Tug of War

A still from a tug of war match between India and Pakistan

Astonished? Yes, this is a professional sport!

The national team was originally established in Ghaziabad in the year 1958 by some officers of the armed forces. The team has participated in various international events and has been recognised by the government.

They have also achieved a lot in various categories. There is a championship every two years organised by the Tug of War Federation. The 2016 Championship will be held in Netherlands from 18-02-2016 to 21-2-2016.

#5 Ice Hockey

India's ice hockey team has been one of the most spoken of niche teams in the country. The team has had an exciting past, with no support from the government.

No one had thought a sport like Ice Hockey could work out in this country because of the weather, but the team members thought differently!

They picked up a crowd funding of around two million rupees in a span of 10 days. Now that the sport has a national team there have been a good amount of registrations for the national team.

It's commendable how these sportspersons are showing the will to represent the country; it’s time for us to support them.