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The most popular national sport in different countries

China —— Table tennis

Since the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China, table tennis in China is a national sport, known as the national ball. China occupies a high position in the history of table tennis. Since the 1960s, Chinese athletes have won most of the world Table tennis at the Summer Olympics, or even all of the tournaments, several times.  It has been 64 years since Rong Guotuan won the First World Championship for the People’s Republic of China at the 25th World Table Tennis Championships in 1959.

Norway —— Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is to use cross-country skiing equipment, skiing in the mountains between the snow.  Norway in every Winter Olympics, they are very good results, usually their number of gold medals are ranked No. 1.  There are a lot of athletes in the course of the race are basically no mistakes, and there are a lot of local people are very good at skiing.  There are also many Norwegian athletes who have broken world records, so from here we can also see the Norwegian people’s love of skiing.

France – Football

Football, also called association football or soccer, game in which two teams of 11 players, using any part of their bodies except their hands and arms, try to maneuver the ball into the opposing team’s goal. Only the goalkeeper is permitted to handle the ball and may do so only within the penalty area surrounding the goal. The team that scores more goals wins.

Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in France, with 1,993,270 licensed players in the leagues. The sport was imported from England at the end of the 19th century, under the name of association football. In its early days, the sport gained followers mainly in the Paris area and the Northern part of the country - Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Normandy were the first teams that were created outside Paris. However, in southern France, football's competitor, rugby football, was more popular for a period of time. Established in 1919 from competing organizations, the Fédération française de football consists of 18,000 teams.

Although it is not the most practiced physical activity in France, football remains the number one sport in the country. A 2022 survey revealed that approximately 43 percent of the population in France were interested in soccer, making it the most popular sport in the country.

The French football federation is at least the one with the most licensees. This leading position on the national sports scene is a real gold mine for the French sports movement in general. The Ligue 1 alone recorded revenues of over 2.5 billion euros for the 2018/2019 season.

Scotland – Golf

Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.

Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping with the varied terrains encountered on different courses is a key part of the game. Courses typically have either 18 or 9 holes, regions of terrain that each contain a cup, the hole that receives the ball. Each hole on a course contains a teeing ground to start from, and a putting green containing the cup. There are several standard forms of terrain between the tee and the green, such as the fairway, rough (tall grass), and various hazards such as water, rocks, or sand-filled bunkers. Each hole on a course is unique in its specific layout.

Golf is played for the lowest number of strokes by an individual, known as stroke play, or the lowest score on the most individual holes in a complete round by an individual or team, known as match play. Stroke play is the most commonly seen format at all levels, especially at the elite level.

The modern game of golf was born in Scotland, and the first 18-hole course and the rules were both formed in the country. It is widely believed that St Andrews is where the first reference of golf was found, and this dates back all the way to 1552.  That said, it wasn’t until almost 200 years later in 1754 that the St Andrews Society of Golfers was formed, and 1764 when the first course was built.  Whichever date you choose to focus on, it should be clear why Scots love golf – it is a sport all of their own, a part of their culture, and a key national sporting icon for the country.