History of sports

Most sports of today only developed in their current form in the 19th and 20th century, though many take
their origins from more primitive sports and pastimes of ancient time. Although it is impossible to know for
sure, it is usually considered that wrestling and boxing were the first sports every played. At the first
recorded ancient Olympic Games in 760 BC, there was only one event, a footrace. Later Games included
other events such as wrestling, boxing, equestrian, discus, javelin, and jumping.

Badminton:-
 A badminton-like game was known in ancient Greece and Egypt - a game called battledore and
shuttlecock - in which two players hit a feathered shuttlecock back and forth with tiny rackets.
 The game was played in India during the 18th Century, at which time it was called "Poona" .
 In the 1860s it was adopted by British Army officers stationed in India. The officers took the game
back to England, where it became a success at a party given by the Duke of Beaufort in 1873 at
his estate called "Badminton" in Gloucestershire.
 A variation of Badminton which has been developed only recently, Speed Badminton or
Speedminton, is played without a net, and is gaining popularity, especially in Germany.

Soccer (Football):-
 The most popular sport played around the world today, Association football (soccer), has its
origins from China (see Soccer History). There is evidence in China that military forces around
2nd and 3rd century BC (Han Dynasty) played a game, originally named "Tsu Chu", that involved
kicking a leather ball stuffed with fur into a small hole. Like Soccer, no hands were permitted
during the play of the game
 The Japanese version of 'soccer' was called Kemari, a game much like modern hackysacks,
played with two to twelve players, and played a larger ball stuffed with sawdust. There was also a
field designated by four trees (cherry, maple, pine and willow).
 1904-Establishment of FIFA by delegates from France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands,
Spain, Sweden and Switzerland at a meeting in Paris on the 21st of May.
 1900 Soccer played at the Olympic Games for the first time
 In 1930, The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) held soccer's first World
Cup tournament in Montevideo, Uruguay, with 13 teams.
 The inaugural Women's World Cup in 1991 in China was won by the United States

Golf
 Golf originates from a game played on the coast of Scotland during the 15th century. At that time
players would hit a pebble instead of a ball around the sand dunes using a stick or club. You may
also be interested in the history of the golf ball and golf clubs
 1618 -The feather golf ball or 'Featherie' was introduced
 1905-The first time a dimple pattern was applied to a golf ball
 1939- the maximum of 14 clubs in a bag rule was introduced

Cricket
  1844 - The first ever international cricket game, played between the USA and Canada in in New
York.

 1877 - The first Test match began on 15 March, between England and Australia.

 1900 - cricket was played at the Paris Olympic Games, won by a Brtiish team.

 1971 - The first limited-over international match took place at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

 1973 - the first Women's Cricket World Cup was held in England

 1975 - the first Cricket World Cup was played in England

 2005 - The first men's Twenty20 international was between Australia and New Zealand

 2007 - The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 was played in South Africa

History of the Modern Olympics

 The first recorded ancient Olympic Games were held in 776 BC, held in Olympia, Greece (read
more about the Ancient Olympic Games). The Ancient Olympics continues every four year,
finishing about 394 AD.
 In modern times, the 'Wenlock Games', officially called the Wenlock Olympian Society Annual
Games, dates from 1850, and was a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games which did not start
until almost 50 years later. The 'Wenlock Games are still held annually in the Shropshire village of
Much Wenlock, England. In honor of this, one of the Olympic mascots for the London 2012
Summer Olympics was named Wenlock.
 In 1894, a French educator Baron Pierre de Coubertin, proposed a revival of the ancient tradition,
and thus the modern-day Olympic Summer Games were born.

 Because of World War I and World War II, there were no Olympic Games in 1916, 1940, or 1944.

 Women first competed at the 1900 Paris Games

 Because of World War I and World War II, there were no Olympic Games in 1916, 1940, or 1944.