Olympian Dipa Karmakar has created history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to enter the Olympic finals at the Rio Olympic Centre in Rio de Janeiro. But as of now, it is boxing which is the most popular sport in India if we have to go by Google Trends.
According to the interactive map, between June 28 and July 28, 2016, boxing is a favorite sport in both India and Pakistan. (Interactive map below)
So why is it?
Well, boxing is somewhat popular in India, but the keywords searched in ‘boxing’ in Sports category in the past 30 days could give us clue. Ironically, it looks like the heightened interest could have been because of ace boxer Vijender Singh NOT participating in the Olympics. You can read about it here.
But isn’t just that.
Three boxers have qualified to the Olympics from India.
From left: Vikas Yadav, Manoj Kumar and Shiva Thapa
Twenty-three-year-old Vikas Krishan Yadav from Haryana is competing in his second Olympics the middleweight category. He has won bronze in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, Bronze in the 2011 AIBA World Championship and 2010 Asian Games gold in the 60-kg category.
Maratha Manoj Kumar is participating in the lightweight 64 kg category. The 28-year-old from Haryana is a 2010 Commonwealth Gold medalist. Manoj lost the pre-quarterfinal bout in the 2012 London Olympics against Tom Stalker of Great Britain. He won a bronze medal in the 2012 and 2016 AIBA Asia Olympic Qualifiers.
Shiva Thapa from Guwahati in Assam is the youngest of the lot at 22. He is the best hope for a gold medal in the discipline. He became the youngest boxer to qualify for the London Games in the Bantamweight category. He won gold in Asian Olympic Qualifiers in 2012, Asian Confederation gold 2013, quarters of World Championship 2013 and is currently number 3 in the world.
And there is seems to be a lot of interest about Thapa, who is considered the strongest contender for boxing in India, going by the sub-region analysis of the keyword searches.
Worldwide however, India is in the sixth position in searches for 'boxing'. That could mean that even in our most Googled sport, our interest is lesser compared to 5 other countries. This perhaps goes to show the low interest in Olympics in India on the whole, compared to other countries.