The involvement of men and women in sport or cultural and sports activities is the quantity of leisure time they have

When it comes to women in sports, Indian society always holds back. They want to be open (at least a few of them) and they want to promote them and push them towards success but the various societal norms come into play and they have to hold back, even the ones who are genuine in their thoughts of making Women stand out as well.

Most women want to strive for success and make it big in whatever they do and that includes sports as well. But the Indian society does not give them opportunities on the same level as men do but the matter is better today than it was many years ago.

Women in Sport has been a topic virtually ignored by most scholars and thus female sport participation has been a relatively undeveloped area of research. Sex role, stereotyping, male research bias, and the reward structure of society have contributed to this neglect. Currently, sport for women represents a fast-growing changing element in Indian culture, and recent trends have sparked a need for knowledge about female sport participation.

An overwhelming majority of Indians say women athletes should receive equal pay as males but 38 percent believe that sports featuring women are not as entertaining as those featuring men, according to the research.

The research, based on answers received from 10,181 approx. respondents from 14 Indian states, shows that three-quarters of Indians think sport is important in their lives but just 36% approx. participate in any kind of sport or physical activity.

It also says that 42% of men said they played sport compared to 29% of women. People in the 15-24 age bracket play the most sport, and the research showed that those who are unmarried are also more likely to take part in sports, 54% of those unmarried play sports compared to 30% of those married/divorced approximately.

The research shows that approx. 41% of people believe sportswomen are as good as their male counterparts. However, a third of the Indians surveyed believed that sportswomen are not as good as sportsmen.

Among the respondents, approx. 37% said female athletes are not feminine enough and many felt that it’s not safe for women to play, while approx. 29% believe women are not strong enough to play the sport.

Our research shows attitudes towards women and women in sports in India are complex, contradictory, and counterintuitive. The research project shows that real progress has been made in terms of attitudes towards women and women’s sports yet some age-old stereotypes retain a hold on the imagination.

It shows that the idea of gender equality has become quite commonplace amongst the Indian population, even if this doesn’t always match with other views held. Most fascinating are the differences across the states, where attitudes sometimes conform to but more often than not completely upturn what people may expect.

Both the men and women agreed that sports are important to them. Yet, there are some sports which some people deem ‘not suitable for women, such as boxing, weightlifting, wrestling, kabaddi, and motorsports.

There is a larger gender difference in cricket with only 15% of Indian women playing it, as compared to 25% of men. However, there is little disparity when it comes to Kabaddi, with 15% of men and 11% of women taking part in the sport. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are the ‘sportiest’ states of India, according to the research.

When it comes to women in sports, only 34% approx. of India’s population consumed any news about it, with only 18% claiming to have watched women’s sports in person and the equivalent figure for men’s sports is 24% approx.

Education played an important role in encouraging women to participate in sports, whether it was school or college. The provision of sports facilities on an equal scale for women as for men has more recently also contributed to the increased number of women who participate in sports.