Tamil Nadu - Sports

Sports

Traditional sport of Tamil Nadu and Tamil people include Silambam a Tamil martial arts played with a long bamboo staff, Cockfight, Jallikattu a bull taming sport famous on festival occasions, ox-wagon racing known as Rekkala, Kite also known as Pattam viduthal and Kabaddi also known as Sadugudu is the state game of Tamil Nadu. Most of these traditional sports are associate with traditional festivals and mostly played in rural Tamil Nadu. In urban area of Tamil Nadu modern sports like bat and ball games are played.

The most popular game just like rest of India is Cricket. M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is an international cricketing arena with a capacity of 50,000 and houses the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Laxmipathy Balaji and Ravichandran Ashwin are few of the many cricketers from Tamil Nadu. The MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai headed by Australian Glenn Mcgrath is a much sought after fast bowling academy by pace bowlers all over the world. Cricket contests between local clubs, franchises and teams are popular across the state. Chennai Super Kings represents Chennai among the nine Indian cities featuring in the nation level Twenty-20 cricket competition, the Indian Premier League.

Tamil Nadu has a long standing motor sports culture. The sport was pioneered by Sundaram Karivardhan in its early days. Motor racing between 60s and 80s were conducted at Sholavaram track using an abandoned word war II air strip as track. Modern motor racing events are held at two venues, the Irungattukottai Race Track owned and operated by Madras Motor Sports Club near Sriperumbudur and Kari Motor Speedway near Coimbatore. The only two people to ever represent India in Formula 1 are both from Tamil Nadu viz. Narain Karthikeyan, the first Indian to participate in F1 racing, and Karun Chandhok.

Tennis is also a famous sport in Tamil Nadu with notable international players including Ramesh Krishnan, Ramanathan Krishnan, Vijay Amritraj and Mahesh Bhupathi. Nirupama Vaidyanathan, the first Indian women to play in a grandslam tournament also hails from the state. The ATP Chennai Open tournament held in Chennai every January is the biggest Tennis event in South Asia. The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT)owns Nungambakkam tennis stadium which hosts Chennai Open and Davis Cup play off tournaments.

Five time World Chess champion and one of the greatest ever chess players Viswanathan Anand hails from the state. Tamil Nadu boasts of total of 8 Grand Masters and numerous International Masters. Other notable names include Manuel Aaron, the first Indian International Master, Krishnan Sasikiran, Grandmaster and Arjuna Award, S. Vijayalakshmi, Six time Women's national champion of India and the First Women Grandmaster from India, Aarthie Ramaswamy, Women Grandmaster and former under-18 girls' World Chess champion. Maria Irudayam and present women's world champion Ilavazhagi also represents Tamil Nadu.

The Tamil Nadu Hockey Association is the governing body of Hockey in the state. Vasudevan Baskaran was the captain of the Indian team that won gold medal in 1980 Olympics at Moscow. The Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai hosts international hockey events and is regarded by the International Hockey Federation as one of the best in the world for its infrastructure.

The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) is the government body that is vested with the responsibility of developing sports and related infrastructure in the state. The SDAT owns and operates world class stadiums and organises sporting events. It also accommodates sporting events, both at domestic and international level, organised by other sports associations at its venues. The YMCA College of Physical Education at Nandanam in Chennai was established in 1920 and was the first college for physical education in Asia. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai is a multi-purpose stadium hosting Football and Track & Field events. The Indian Triathlon Federation and the Volleyball Federation of India are headquartered in Chennai. Chennai hosted India’s first ever International Beach Volleyball Championship in 2008. The SDAT – TNSRA Squash Academy in Chennai, one of the very few modern squash facilities in South Asia, hosts international squash events.

Snooker was invented by General Sir Frederick Roberts at the Ooty Club in Ooty, a hill station in the state.

Tamil Nadu has six 18-hole Golf courses, the most popular of which are Kodaikanal Golf Club, established in 1895, Ooty Golf Course, established in 1896, and Gymkhana Club, Chennai. The Madras Boat Club, set up in 1867, hosts regular rowing races on the Adyar River. The 232-year-old Guindy race course in Chennai is a horse racing venue. Adventure sports have gained popularity, especially amongst the tourists visiting the state.