Sports in India which has a trend of increasing female participants

Women playing cricket doubled — from 5% (2020) to 10% (2026) of women surveyed. The gender ratio also narrowed from 5 men-per-woman to roughly 3-to-1. Women's football registration grew 138% in two years at the competitive/club level, with 24 active state leagues now running as a third tier.

“Badminton: Grew from 4% to 6% of women surveyed (2020→2026), while male participation stayed flat.”

The government's ASMITA women's league program engaged over 53,000 women athletes across 450+ cities in its first phase, with 70,000+ athletes targeted across 15 disciplines for 2025–26.

• Football is a good example of the gap. Competitive registrations are up 138%, but the same national household survey that tracked badminton and cricket found football participation had actually declined overall – the growth is concentrated in structured/competitive leagues, not casual/recreational play, with pockets like Kerala and Meghalaya remaining strongholds.
• Kabaddi and running both declined in the general population survey (2020 to2026), even though kabaddi has a long female player base and running events have multiplied in cities. So "more of a sport happening" doesn't always mean "more women in it."

Where India has structurally higher female representation

• Archery and badminton show higher female participation relative to other Olympic sports in India, based on an analysis of Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and Olympic rosters, while athletics, golf, shooting, and wrestling have had more male participants historically.
• At the Tokyo Olympics, India's contingent was 43–45% female, its highest ever, reflecting a longer-term structural rise rather than a single-sport spike.