Hyderabad, Feb. 3 -- All Indians have seen the photo of Kapil Devholding aloft the Prudential WorldCup that India won in 1983. It was a large trophy in the shape of a huge cup with handles on both sides. That is the standard designfor almost all sports trophies. They are usually large cups with handles on either side. But have you ever wondered why sports trophiesare in the shape of Cups?

In tennis, there is the Davis Cup. Table tennishas the Swaythling Cup and the CorbillonCup,badmintonhas the Thomas Cup and UberCup and so on. There is a reason why sports trophiesare almost always in the shape of a large Cup. It lies in traditional practices that many people are not aware of nowadays.

How the tradition began

In ancientGreece when the ...