Sport in Delhi

Sport in Delhi have a long and distinguished history. Delhi is the capital territory of India; it has hosted many major international tournaments and has professional teams in different national leagues like Hockey India League, Indian Premier League and Indian Super League.

Jagbir Singh in action at the Shivaji Stadium, New Delhi.

Delhi as the Host

Delhi has hosted many international sports championships and multi-sports events:

Delhi Half Marathon

The Delhi Half Marathon is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is an AIMS-certified course and is listed as a Gold Label Road Race by the IAAF.[1][2] The 2009 event attracted around 29,000 runners who competed in one of the four races:[3] the half marathon, the 7 km Great Delhi Run, a 4.3 km run for senior citizens, and a 3.5 km wheelchair race.[4]

2010 Hockey World Cup
2007 ONGC Nehru Cup India vs Syria

The 2010 Hockey World Cup was the twelfth installment of the Men's Hockey World Cup. New Delhi became first Indian city to host this major event, taking place over two weeks from 28 February – 13 March 2010 at New Delhi's Dhyan Chand National Stadium.[5]

Nehru Cup

The Nehru Cup (more formally known as the ONGC Nehru Cup) due to the competition's sponsorship by ONGC is an international association football tournament organised by the (AIFF). It was launched in 1982, but was not held from 1998 to 2006. After the trophy was won by Iraq in 1997, it was reinstated only in 2007.

Cricket World Cup

Delhi had been one of the host cities of Cricket world cup's three terms held in Indian sub-continent.

Cricket
Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, home of the Delhi Capitals

Cricket, as in whole nation has special place in Delhi also. Cricket is very well organised and established within Delhi and most popular spectator sport. Delhi has several of India's leading cricket clubs. Not only at professional level, cricket is very popular among the people of Delhi.

Delhi cricket team is the first-class cricket team of Delhi, that plays in India's domestic competition, the Ranji Trophy. They have won the tournament seven times and have been runners-up seven. In the Duleep and Deodhar Trophy, Delhi comes under the North Zone team.[6]

Delhi is the home of Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Capitals, owned by the GMR Group and JSW Group.

Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) is the governing body of cricket in Delhi region. It manages the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground and Rajat Sharma is the current president of DDCA Executive Committee.[7] DDCA affiliates many cricket clubs in Delhi.[8]

Association football
Ambedkar stadium, only major football stadium in Delhi-NCR

Football is a popular sport in Delhi, perhaps second to cricket. The only football stadium in Delhi is the Ambedkar Stadium which has a total capacity of 20,000 people, and can be expanded up to 50,000 people. Delhi hosts the Nehru Cup, international football tournament organised by the All India Football Federation.

Delhi is the home of many amateur and professional football club:

Tennis
RK Khanna Tennis Complex's Central Court

Tennis in Delhi has been played since British Raj. Delhi Lawn Tennis Association is the governing body of tennis in Delhi, its headquarters are located at African Avenue.[11] R.K. Khanna Tennis Complex is the main tennis stadium in Delhi-NCR for the international tournaments. It also hosts the headquarters of the All India Tennis Association, the national governing body of tennis in India.

Basketball

Delhi is home to the Delhi Capitals, 2016 Champion of India's top professional basketball division, the UBA Pro Basketball League.

Swimming

Swimming is a popular activity in Delhi due to the hot weather. A 2014 news report said that people were willing to queue for seven hours for an opportunity to join a "government-run sports complex, featuring an Olympic-sized swimming pool."[12]

Ground and Stadium

See also

References
  1. AIMS Race Directory. Association of International Marathons and Distance Races. Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
  2. Airtel looks at leveraging ‘world’s richest’ Delhi marathon. MSN (2009-10-29). Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
  3. Keitany sub-1:07 again, Merga defends in Delhi Half Marathon. IAAF (2009-11-01). Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
  4. 30,000 people run the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon Archived 2010-11-23 at the Wayback Machine. Hindustan Times (2009-11-01). Retrieved on 2009-11-01.
  5. "India to host 2010 men's hockey World Cup". The Hindu. 22 March 2008.
  6. "India - Domestic Cricket". Static.espncricinfo.com. 17 June 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  7. "Delhi & District Cricket Association". Ddca.in. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "DSA-Delhi Senior Division 2007/08". Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  10. "2.Division National Football League 2004/05". Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  11. "Welcome to Delhi Lawn Tennis Association". Dltatennis.com. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  12. Anand, Anu (19 July 2014). "The swimming pool with a seven-hour wait to get in". BBC News. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
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