Sports is an integral part of culture in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport in this state. Kabaddi, field hockey, Kho Kho, badminton, and table tennis are also played in urban areas in schools- colleges, except Kho-kho and Kabbadi which is played rural areas of the state. In the state's southern rural regions, wrestling championships such as

Hind Kesari Hind Kesari is an Indian-style wrestling championship, established in 1958. It is affiliated to the Indian Style Wrestling Association of India (ISWAI). Hindi Kesari Title is a biggest Kushti Wrestling Title in India . In 2011, women were a ...

and Maharashtra Kesari annually take place. Among minors in the state, games like '' Viti-Dandu'' and various Tag sports are played.

Maharashtra Cricket Association The Maharashtra Cricket Association ( Marathi: महाराष्ट्र क्रिकेट संघटणा) is the governing body of the cricket activities in the Maharashtra state of India and the Maharashtra cricket team. It is affil ...

governs the cricket in this state except Mumbai region etc. International standard stadium such as Wankhede stadium,

Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium is a cricket stadium situated in the city of Pune, India besides the Pune Mumbai Expressway nestled between the hills of the Western Ghats. It is the home venue for the Maharashtra cricket team and is ...

of cricket are present in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

respectively.

Maharashtra cricket team The Maharashtra cricket team is a domestic cricket team that represents Maharashtra state in domestic cricket of India. It is govern by Maharashtra Cricket Association. It plays its home matches at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune ...

represents the state in Indian domestic cricket. This state's

Mumbai cricket team The Mumbai cricket team is a cricket team representing the city of Mumbai in Indian domestic cricket. The team's primary home ground is the Wankhede Stadium in South Mumbai. Secondary home venues include the MCA ground in Bandra Kurla Complex ...

represents Mumbai district,

Palghar district Palghar District (Marathi pronunciation: aːlɡʱəɾ is a district in the state of Maharashtra in Konkan Division. On 1 Aug 2014, the State government of Maharashtra announced the formation of the 36th district of Maharashtra Palghar, it was ...

and

Thane district Thane district (Pronunciation: �ʰaːɳe previously named Taana or Thana) is a district in the Konkan Division of Maharashtra, India. At the 2011 Census it was the most populated district in the country, with 11,060,148 inhabitants; however, i ...

in domestic cricket.

IPL The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

franchise Mumbai Indians is based in Mumbai.

Maharashtra Open The Maharashtra Open (known as Tata Open Maharashtra for sponsorship reasons) is a professional men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Pune, India. It is part of the ATP Tour 250 series on the ATP Tour. The inaugural event ...

ATP Tour 250 The ATP 250 tournaments (previously known as the ''ATP World Tour 250'' tournaments, ''ATP International Series'', and ''ATP World Series'') are the lowest tier of annual men's tennis tournaments on the main ATP Tour, after the four Grand Slam tou ...

tournament annually held in Balewadi Stadium, Pune.

History

Pre-colonial sports

ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

called Mallavidya was practiced. The martial art was practiced in earthen mud pits called ''Akhadas'' or ''Talims'', some of which can still be found in Maharashtra today. Mallavidya was a form of

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...

that was more complex than

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, and examples of the martial art can be seen on archaeological sculptures from the region at numerous locations, such as Kharosa or Pavnar.

Baji Rao II Shrimant Peshwa Baji Rao II (10 January 1775 – 28 January 1851) was the 13th and the last Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He governed from 1795 to 1818. He was installed as a puppet ruler by the Maratha nobles, whose growing power prompted him ...

, the last

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...

of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

, was a patron of strength and wrestling competitions during the early 19th century. Under his patronage, the sport of pole gymnastics (called

Malkhamb Mallakhamba or mallakhamb is a traditional sport, originating from the Indian subcontinent, in which a gymnast performs aerial yoga or gymnastic postures and wrestling grips in concert with a vertical stationary or hanging wooden pole, cane, or ...

) was developed in Pune by Balambhat Deodhar. After Baji Rao lost power and was exiled to northern India, Deodhar brought Malkhamb and Mallavidya to other Maratha-ruled states such as

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

and

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

. In the later 19th and early 20th centuries, other rulers such as those of

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is kn ...

and Aundh were also patrons of organised wrestling and sporting festivals. Among these rulers of these princely states,

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

, and

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...

gained popularity.

Imported sports under British rule

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

in India drastically changed the landscape of sports in Maharastra. Like in other regions of India, British rulers and aristocrats enjoyed outdoor sports and built facilities for their own leisure. This led to the introduction of several British sports such as cricket and the development of the new game of badminton. New infrastructure such as the building of a dam at Bund gardens in 1860 allowed for recreational boating on the

Mula-Mutha river The Mula-Mutha is a river in India, formed by the confluence of the Mula and Mutha rivers in the city of Pune, which later meets the Bhima River, which itself later meets the Krishna River and finally emptying to the Bay of Bengal. The river ...

. In addition, the colonial rulers introduced horse racing. Race courses built during this period such as the

Mahalaxmi Racecourse The Mahalaxmi Racecourse is a horse racing track in Mahalaxmi neighbourhood of Mumbai. The track is oval shaped with straight chute, spread over approximately of open land in the heart of Mumbai city. It was created out of a marshy land know ...

and

Pune Race Course Pune Race Course is a racecourse located in Pune Cantonment, western India. It is located 5–6 km from downtown Pune and 12–13 km from Pune airport. Built in 1830, it covers . The land is controlled by the Indian Army. Additional st ...

are still in operation today. By the late 19th century, the British had constructed numerous sports clubs which were exclusively white or restricted based on religion. These included Poona Europeans, Poona Parsees, and Poona Hindu Gymkhana. While many of these clubs based on religion were dominated by educated

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

s, there were some lower-caste stars such as brothers,

Palwankar Baloo Palwankar Baloo was an Indian cricketer and political activist. In 1896, he was selected by Parmanandas Jivandas Hindu Gymkhana and played in the Bombay Quadrangular tournaments. He was employed by the Bombay Berar and Central Indian Railways, a ...

and Vithal Palwankar who played cricket in the early 20th century.

Indigenous sports under British rule

At the same time that imported sports were being developed by the British, indigenous sports continued to change and develop as well. However, after

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

officer Walter Rand was assassinated in 1897 by the

Chapekar brothers The Chapekar Brothers, Damodar Hari Chapekar (25 June 1869 – 18 April 1898), Balkrishna Hari Chapekar (1873 – 12 May 1899, also called Bapurao) and Vasudeo Hari Chapekar (1880 – 8 May 1899), also spelt Wasudeva or Wasudev, were Indian r ...

, who ran a wrestling venue in Pune, British colonial authorities viewed these indigenous sports venues with suspicion. A committee was established in 1914 in order to set rules for

kho-kho Kho kho or kho-kho is a traditional Indian sport that dates back to ancient India. It is the second most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connec ...

. The formalization of Indian sports continued in the region, and the Deccan Gymkhana sports club was instrumental in organizing the first Indian delegation to an Olympic games, which participated in the 1920 games in Antwerp. Other clubs, such as the Maharashtra Mandal club which formed in the early 20th century, promoted physical culture and education by hosting both indigenous and western sports. Other new indigenous sports and exercises developed as well, especially

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

and related exercises. In the 1920s,

Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi C.B.E (October 24, 1868 – April 13, 1951), popularly known as Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi or Bhawanrao Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi, was the ruler of the princely state of Aundh of British Raj during the reig ...

, the ruler of Aundh, helped popularize the series of yoga positions called

Surya Namaskar Sun Salutation, also called Surya Namaskar(a) or Salute to the Sun (), is a practice in yoga as exercise incorporating a flow sequence of some twelve gracefully linked asanas. The asana sequence was first recorded as yoga in the early 20th centu ...

, a flowing sequence of salutations to the sun. This series contained popular

asana An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...

s (positions) such as upward and

downward dog Downward Dog Pose or Downward-facing Dog Pose, also called Adho Mukha Shvanasana ( sa, अधोमुखश्वानासन; IAST: ''Adho Mukha Śvānāsana''), is an inversion asana, often practised as part of a flowing sequence of pose ...

and

Uttanasana Uttanasana ( sa, उत्तानासन; ) or Standing Forward Bend, with variants such as Padahastasana where the toes are grasped, is a standing forward bending asana in modern yoga as exercise. Etymology and origins The name comes from ...

which helped to popularize

yoga as exercise Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has ...

. Beginning in the 1910s, local Indian organizations were established in order to propagate and develop Indian physical culture. One such organization, initially called Hanuman akhara, was formed in 1922 by the Vaidya brothers in

Amravati Amravati (pronunciation ( help·info)) is the second largest city in the Vidarbha region and ninth largest city in Maharashtra, India. It is administrative headquarters of Amravati district and Amravati division which includes Akola, Buld ...

and eventually became the Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak mandal (HVPM). A satellite organization of the HVPM helped to revise the rules for

kabaddi Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...

in the 1930s after the Indian YMCA had first formulated the rules in earlier years.

Administration

The Directorate of Sports and Youth Services (Maharashtra) is the governing body which is responsible for sports in Maharashtra. The directorate is a part of the School Education and Sports Department of the

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisla ...

and is let by the Sports and Youth Welfare Minister of Maharashtra. The Maharashtra Olympic Association, affiliated with the

Indian Olympic Association The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international athletic meets and for managing the Indian teams ...

, is responsible for the selection and participation of the state's contingent in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

, and for the

South Asian Games The South Asian Games (SAG or SA Games), formerly known as the South Asian Federation Games (SAFG or SAF Games), is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from South Asia. The governing body of these games is South Asia Olympic C ...

in Maharashtra. The Maharashtra Cricket Association is the governing body for

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

activities in the state of Maharashtra and for the

. It is affiliated with the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...

. The Maharashtra Cricket Association is one of three cricket associations based in Maharashtra, along with

Mumbai Cricket Association The Mumbai Cricket Association (formerly Bombay Cricket Association) is the governing body for cricket in Mumbai and surrounding regions such as Thane and Navi Mumbai. Its headquarter is situated at Cricket centre in Churchgate, Mumbai. It g ...

and

Vidarbha Cricket Association The Vidarbha Cricket Association is the governing body of the Cricket activities in the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra state of India and the Vidarbha cricket team. It is affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India. N. K. P. Salve ...

. The Western India Football Association (WIFA) is the governing body for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

in Maharashtra. It is affiliated with the

All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry o ...

, the sport's national governing body for all of India. The WIFA was established on 12 July 1911.

Sports policy

The Maharashtra Government announced its first sports policy in 1996, and was the first Indian state to do so. After five years, in 2001, the state government launched a second sports policy for a ten year period which had the motto "Fitness for all through Sports". As a part of this policy, the Sports Infrastructure Development Plan was created. In addition, a reservation was made for a sportsperson in government and semi-government jobs in the 2001 policy. In 2012, a third sports policy was declared which enabled financial assistance in order to prepare the state for participation in international competitions.

Indigenous sports

A number of Indian sports originated in Maharashtra or were formalised there. These include

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

kho kho Kho kho or kho-kho is a traditional Indian sport that dates back to ancient India. It is the second most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connec ...

atya patya Atya patya or atya-patya is a traditional Indian tag sport played by two sides of nine players. It is more popular in rural areas of India. It is more commonly played in Maharashtra, a western Indian state. Atya patya is described as a "gam ...

langdi Langdi was a script commonly used by traders used to write Haryanvi, Punjabi, or Saraiki in the Indian subcontinent . Bookkeepers, known as munīm ( hi, मुनीम, ur, ), would also keep records in this script. Some scholars have claim ...

, and

mallakhamba Mallakhamba or mallakhamb is a traditional sport, originating from the Indian subcontinent, in which a gymnast performs aerial yoga or gymnastic postures and wrestling grips in concert with a vertical stationary or hanging wooden pole, cane, or ...

. In rural areas of Maharashtra, kusti (Indian mud wrestling) and bullock cart competitions can regularly be seen during the annual ''jatra'' carnival. The Maharashtran government has supported kusti in the state by constructing two permanent training centers for the sport in the

area.

Indian wrestling

Today, wrestling is a very popular sport in Maharashtra. Despite cricket's dominance in most of India, wrestling has maintained its popularity in Maharashtra, especially in the rural regions of the state and

Kolhapur district Kolhapur district (Marathi pronunciation: olʱaːpuɾ is a district in the Maharashtra state of India. The city of Kolhapur is its district headquarter. It is situated near Panchaganga river. It is bordered by the Sangli district to the Nor ...

. One famous wrestler from the state was

Khashaba Jadhav Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav (15 January 1926 – 14 August 1984) was an Indian athlete. He is best known as a wrestler who won a bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He was the first athlete from independent India to win an indiv ...

, who was the first Indian from the newly independent Indian nation to win an Olympic medal in an individual sport when he won a bronze medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Wrestling typically takes place in a clay or dirt pit. The soil is mixed with

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...

and other materials and is tended too before each practice or match. This style of traditional wrestling, called kusti, encompasses more than just a sport for its athletes. Wrestlers are a part of an ancient subculture, living and training together and following strict rules on diet and leisure. The focus is on living a pure life and building one's strength and skills, and as such drinking, smoking, and sex are off limits. The wrestlers' diets consist of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

almonds The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of th ...

, ghee, eggs, and chapattis. Kusti represents the intersection of sports, politics, and culture and is deeply embedded in the agrarian economy of rural Maharashtra. Another style of wrestling popular in Maharashtra is

, a wrestling championship established in 1958. The championship is affiliated with the All India Amateur Wrestling Federation (AIAWF). Most common in the rural areas of western Maharashtra, wrestlers train in schools called ''taleems'', in which wrestling gurus instruct students on both physical and moral instruction in a style of wrestling that blends spiritual and secular practices. The largest tournaments in the state draw top wrestlers from the region and even outside India, including from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, and several African nations.

Field hockey

Field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

is one of the more popular sports in Maharashtra. Up to thirty domestic tournaments of the sport are held in a calendar year in Pune alone, such as the All India Bombay Gold Cup Hockey Tournament and the All India Aagha Khan Hockey Tournament. The state is home to three hockey clubs playing in different leagues, and was also the home of a now defunct club called the

Maratha Warriors The Maratha Warriors were a field hockey team from Maharashtra, India that competed in the now defunct Premier Hockey League. Team Lineup Players Squad Note: The list of players was obtained from the PHL website. The list may change in t ...

who competed in the

Premier Hockey League Premier Hockey League (PHL) was a professional field hockey league competition for clubs in the top division of the Indian hockey system. There were seven teams in the PHL. The competition was held every year from 2005 until 2008. History The ...

. The

Mumbai Magicians Mumbai Magicians (abbreviated as MM) was a field hockey team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that played in the Hockey India League from 2012 to 2014. It was owned by Dabur India Ltd. Australian coach Ric Charlesworth served as the head coach fo ...

are based in

and play in the

Hockey India League Hockey India League (HIL), known as the Coal India Hockey India League is a professional field hockey league in India. The league is organized by Hockey India, the governing body for the sport in India. HIL, along with the Indian Premier League, ...

. The

Mumbai Marines Mumbai Marines (MM), initially known as ''Mumbai Warriors'', is a hockey team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that plays in the World Series Hockey and led by Indian hockey team goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza. The team is owned by Ashish Bharatram (SRF ...

are also based in Mumbai. The

Pune Strykers Pune Strykers (abbreviated as PS) is an Indian professional hockey team based in Pune, Maharashtra that plays in the World Series Hockey. Currently, Canadian Ken Pereira is the captain of the team and is coached by Gundeep Singh. The team is o ...

are based in

and play in the World Series Hockey.

Mahindra Hockey Stadium Mahindra Hockey Stadium is a field hockey stadium at Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is the home of the Mumbai Marines of the World Series Hockey and Mumbai Magicians of the Hockey India League. It was also the home venue of the Maratha Warriors ...

serves as the home venue of the Mumbai Marines and Mumbai Magicians and used to be the home venue of the Maratha Warriors. Formerly known as the Bombay Hockey Association Stadium, the stadium hosted the 1982 Men's Hockey World Cup.

PCMC Hockey Stadium PCMC Hockey Stadium also known as The Major Dhyanachand Stadium is a field hockey stadium in the city of Pune, India. It has a seating capacity of 5,000 people. It serves as the home ground of the hockey franchisee based in Pune Strykers, for ...

serves as the home venue of the Pune Strykers. Many individual Maharashtrian have also contributed to India's hockey legacy. Tushar Khandekar is referred to as "the Goal Poacher". Hiranna M. Nimal was a silver medalist at the 1962 Asian Games and also represented Maharashtra in many other National and International Leagues. Other notable hockey stars from the state include

Dhanraj Pillay Dhanraj Pillay (born 16 July 1968) is a retired Indian field hockey player and former captain of the Indian national team. He also looks after the Air India Sports Promotion Board as a Joint Secretary based in Mumbai. For the last 5 years, Dha ...

and

Viren Rasquinha Viren Wilfred Rasquinha (born 13 September 1980) is an Indian former field hockey player and captain of the Indian national team. He was a member of the team that competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He quit international hockey in 2008 to ...

Cricket

Mumbai, India, Rajabai Clock Tower and palm trees

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

is played at domestic and international levels in Maharashtra and is consistently supported by people from most parts of the state. Maharashtra is home to the

Vidarbha cricket team The Vidarbha cricket team is an Indian domestic cricket team plays in the India's domestic first-class cricket competition Ranji Trophy and limited-overs Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. It represents the Vidarbha region of eas ...

, Veer Marathi cricket franchise, Mumbai Indians, and the regionally dominant

. The Mumbai cricket team was the dominant franchise for much of the 20th century, winning the first

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

Championship over North India in 1935 and winning fifteen consecutive Ranji Trophy victories from 1958-1973. Mumbai is the most successful team in the history of the Ranji Trophy championship, winning 40 titles over the course of its history, and is also the most successful team in the

Irani Cup Irani Trophy or Irani Cup also known as the Mastercard Irani Trophy due to sponsorship reasons, is a first-class cricket tournament organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ...

, with 16 titles won. The Mumbai cricket team is overseen by the

and the Maharashtra cricket team is overseen by the

. The Mumbai cricket team and Mumbai Indians both have their home grounds at Wankhede Stadium, an international cricket ground. Both teams play in the

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

, of which the Mumbai Indians was one of eight founding members in 2008. Maharashtra is home to India's first cricket museum, Blades of Glory, which is based in Pune and run by Rohan Pate, a former cricketer, and which opened during the 2013 Indian Premier League season.

Football

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

is another popular sport in many parts of the state, with the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

and the English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

being followed widely. The Maharashtra Football Pyramid consists of district leagues, each of which are broken into sub-leagues. This pyramid operates during the whole calendar year, but at different times. In the

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

, Mumbai was represented by

Mumbai FC Mumbai Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competed in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system, alongside the MDFA Elite League. It was founded in 2007, with the o ...

Mahindra United Mahindra United Football Club (formerly known as Mahindra & Mahindra) was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in 1962, the club competed in the I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system, bef ...

and

Air-India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...

. In Pune,

Pune F.C. Pune Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra. The club has competed in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. The club was one of the most professional clubs in Indian footb ...

is a recently founded football club in the

which was established in August 2007. There is local rivalry among the Mumbai-based clubs Air India FC and Mumbai FC, and state rivalry with Pune FC. Matches between these teams are called the Maha Derby, as they are played in Maharashtra. Maharashtra is also represented in the Santosh Trophy by the

Maharashtra football team The Maharashtra football team is an Indian football team representing Maharashtra in Indian state football competitions including the Santosh Trophy. They have appeared in the Santosh Trophy finals 15 times, and have won the trophy 4 times. ...

, who last won the trophy in the 1999–2000 season. The

Western India Football Association Western India Football Association (WIFA) is the state governing body for football in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is affiliated with the All India Football Federation, the sports national governing body. History The Bombay Football Assoc ...

(WIFA) signed a deal with Sporting Ace, a sports management company, to infuse new investments into Maharashtra football. The Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA) is the organisation responsible for association football in and around Mumbai. The MDFA organises around seven leagues which contain more than 300 club sides in total, in addition to being responsible for six of India's I-League sides. Seven-a-side football is also hugely popular in Maharashtra. The eighth Motilal Mathurawala Trophy Seven-a-side Junior National Football Championship was held in Pune.

Football clubs in Maharashtra

American football

Maharashtra has two club franchises which play

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

in the

Elite Football League of India The Elite Football League of India (EFLI) is a professional American football league based in India. It was founded with eight franchises in 2011, and now has 23 franchises throughout South Asia, among whom 20 located in India, two in Sri Lanka ...

. The

Mumbai Gladiators The Mumbai Gladiators are a professional American football team based in Mumbai, India. The Gladiators are one of the first eight franchises of the Elite Football League of India (EFLI) and compete in its inaugural season in 2012 File:2012 E ...

is a team based in

and the Pune Marathas is a team based in

with the

Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex The Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex is a sports complex located in Pune, India. The complex is situated about 15 km from Pune downtown and 5 km from Hinjawadi. This complex was the venue for the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, Kh ...

as its home stadium. Maharashtra hosted the First Youth National American Football Championship in 2007 in which the

and Pune Marathas played their first match against each other. However, neither team won the championship, which was instead won by the visiting Manipur team.

Derby (Horse racing)

The

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

season in Maharashtra starts in mid-November and ends in the last week of April. Every February, Mumbai holds

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

races at the

. Since 1986,

McDowell's Indian Derby The Indian Derby is an annual Thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred horse race. It is run over 2,400-metres and held on the first Sunday of February at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai. History The "Indian Derby" is the premier horse racin ...

has been sponsored by liquor baron Vijay Mallya's UB Group as

The McDowell's Indian Derby The Indian Derby is an annual Thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred horse race. It is run over 2,400-metres and held on the first Sunday of February at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai. History The "Indian Derby" is the premier horse racin ...

. The Mahalaxmi Racecourse

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

is one of the two racecourse in Maharashtra. The track is oval with a straight chute spread over approximately . The Mahalaxmi Racecourse was built in 1883 and modelled on the

Caulfield Racecourse Caulfield Racecourse Reserve is located nine kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, on the boundary of Caulfield and Caulfield East in Melbourne's south eastern suburbs. The Reserve was set aside for three purposes, racing, recreation and a publi ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

is the second racecourse in Maharashtra which was built in 1830 and covers .

Grand Prix

In March 2004, the Mumbai Grand Prix was part of the

F1 powerboat world championship The Formula 1 Powerboat World Championship (also F1) is an international motorboat racing competition for powerboats organised by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) and promoted by H2O Racing, hence it often being referred to as F1H2O. ...

, and the

Force India Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 20 ...

F1 team car was unveiled in Mumbai in 2008. The city plans to build its own F1 track and various sites were assessed, of which the authorities have narrowed down to either Marve-Malad or Panvel-Kalyan. If approved, the track will be clubbed with a theme park and will spread over .

Marathon

Mumbai Marathon

In 2004, the annual

Mumbai Marathon The Mumbai Marathon (known as the Tata Mumbai Marathon for sponsorship reasons by Tata Group), is an annual international marathon held in Mumbai, India, on the third Sunday of January every year. It is the largest marathon in Asia as well as t ...

was established as a part of "

The Greatest Race on Earth The Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) was a four-part series of marathon races in a relay format, which included the Nairobi Marathon, Singapore Marathon, Mumbai Marathon and Hong Kong Marathon The Hong Kong Marathon (香港馬拉松), sponso ...

". The Mumbai Marathon is an annual international marathon held on the third Sunday of January. The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon is India's biggest charity platform.

Pune Marathon

Pune International Marathon is an annual marathon established in 1983 which is held in

. Pune Marathon is the first Indian Marathon to be certified by the AIMS. The

Athletics Federation of India The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is the national governing body for Athletics sport in India, and is responsible for conducting competitions in the country. It was formed in 1943. It is affiliated to World Athletics and Asian Athletics A ...

has awarded the status of National Marathon Championship to the Pune International Marathon. Funds raised from the race are donated to

Project Concern International PCI (Project Concern International) is a non-profit, humanitarian NGO based in San Diego, California. PCI reaches nearly 19 million people a year through programs in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. PCI's programs address a broad range of topics ...

, an NGO working towards

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

awareness and prevention.

Tennis

Maharashtra has a franchise-based

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

league, the Maharashtra Tennis League (MTL), which is India's first league format in tennis. The MTL launched with a total of 80 players and five teams: the Mumbai Blasters, Sharp Smashers, Baseline Bombers, Accurate Aces, and Dazzling Deuces. Each team in the league consists of six players, at least two of which must be girls and at least one of which must be from Maharashtra. One famous Maharashtrian tennis player was

Gaurav Natekar Gaurav Natekar (born 4 April 1972) is a seven-time Indian National Tennis Champion. He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1996 for Tennis. His father, Nandu M. Natekar, was a national-level Indian badminton champion. Achievements *Represented th ...

, a former

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

player and seven-time Indian National Tennis Champion. He was awarded the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

in 1996 for Tennis. Mumbai has hosted the

Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open The Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open (known as the ''Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open'' for sponsorship reasons) was a professional men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was part of the ATP International Series, International S ...

, an International Series tournament of the

ATP World Tour The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organis ...

, in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and 2007. The

and 2007 Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open

tournaments were played on outdoor hard courts in Maharashtra. The

and 2007 tournaments took place at the

Cricket Club of India Cricket Club of India (CCI) is a cricket club in India. It is located on Dinsha Wacha Road, in Churchgate of Mumbai, India. It was conceived as India's counterpart to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). It is considered one of the most prestigiou ...

Chess

Maharashtra has a five-decade-long

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

culture.Maharashtra Chess League in offing - Times Of India
/ref> The first chess association in Maharashtra was formed in 1921 and was known as th South Maharashtra Chess Club.::Maharashtra Chess Association ::
/ref> The Sangali Chess Society was established in 1930. The Southern Maratha Country Chess Association originated in 1955. With the growth of the game in the state, the first chess body in Mumbai, known as the Bombay Chess Association, was established in 1944. Open chess tournaments started in the city in 1945. Then, in 1950, the All India Chess Federation was started in Mumbai and held tournaments at the nationallLevel for five years afterwards in Mumbai. The first Inter-State Championship was held in 1960. In 1963, the Bombay Chess Association and Southern Maratha Country Chess Association merged to form the

Maharashtra Chess Association The Maharashtra Chess Association (MCA) is the apex body for the game of chess in Maharashtra, India. It was formed in 1963 and is affiliated with the All India Chess Federation. History The first chess association in Maharashtra is South Maharas ...

. The Maharashtra Chess League, the first-ever

style chess league in India, started the PYC Hindu Gymkhana club in

on 24 April 2013.Maharashtra Chess League to kick off in city today - Indian Express
/ref> The tournament played on a league-cum-knock-out basis. Each team played the other five teams once, with the top four teams at the end of the league stage making it to the semifinals. Maharashtra has produced many notable chess players, including

Abhijit Kunte Abhijit Kunte (born 3 March 1977 in Pune) is an Indian chess player who holds the FIDE title of Grandmaster. Biography He has participated many times in the Indian Chess Championship, winning two gold medals (1997, 2000) and four bronze meda ...

, Praveen Thipsay,

Rohini Khadilkar Rohini Khadilkar (born 1 April 1963 in Mumbai) is a chess player holding the title of Woman International Master (WIM). She has won the Indian women's championship five times and the Asian women's championship twice. She was the first fema ...

, and

Anupama Gokhale Anupama Gokhale (born Anupama Abhyankar; 17 May 1969) is an Indian chess player. She won the Indian Women's Championship five times (1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1997) and the Asian Women's Championship twice (1985 and 1987). In 1985 she was a ...

References

External links

* *
Maharashtra Amateur Athletic Association

Para Athletic Association of Maharashtra
{{Sport in India

History

Pre-colonial sports

Imported sports under British rule

Indigenous sports under British rule

Administration

Sports policy

Indigenous sports

Indian wrestling

Field hockey

Cricket

Football

Football clubs in Maharashtra

American football

Derby (Horse racing)

Grand Prix

Marathon

Mumbai Marathon

Pune Marathon

Tennis

Chess

See also

References

External links