The most popular sports played in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

are

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 st ...

and

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. At the professional level, the city has hosted national and international sporting events. The city had produced highest number of Olympian footballers in India.

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 ...

and cricket are popular among the current generation and apart from modern sports the Indian traditional wrestling (known as ''Kushti'' or ''

Pehlwani Pehlwani, (पहलवानी) also known as Kushti, is a form of wrestling contested in South Asia. It was developed in the Mughal Empire by combining Persian Koshti pahlevani with influences from native Indian Malla-yuddha. The words ' ...

'') is popular among all group of people in Hyderabad.

History

During the rule of the

Nizams of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

, the Nizams as well as the nobility patronized the games. The sixth

Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

, or Asaf Jah VI was fond of horse racing and established the Hyderabad Race Club in 1868. A Paigah nobleman, Moin ud-Dowlah established the

Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup Tournament The Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup Tournament is an Indian cricket competition that has been held in Hyderabad (and sometimes nearby Secunderabad) since 1930-31. From 1930-31 to 1937-38, and from 1962-63 to 1973-74, it had first-class status. 1930-31 t ...

in 1930. Football became the most popular sport in Hyderabad during the "Golden Period" from the 1950s to the 1970s. During this period, Hyderabad-based players formed the nucleus of the Indian Football Team. The prominent players of this time include Syed Abdul Rahim,

Peter Thangaraj Havildar Peter Thangaraj (24 December 1935 – 24 November 2008) was an Indian football player and a non-commissioned officer in the Indian Army. Thangaraj played for the Indian national side at the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympics. H ...

and Shabbir Ali.

Events

At the professional level, the city has hosted national and international sports events such as the 2002

National Games of India The National Games of India consist of various disciplines in which athletes from the different states of India participate against each other. The country's first few Olympic Games, now renamed as National Games, were held in North India (De ...

, the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, the

2004 AP Tourism Hyderabad Open The 2004 AP Tourism Hyderabad Open was a Tier 4 women's professional tennis tournament on the 2004 WTA Tour. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from 16 through 21 February 2004. Nicole Pratt won the singles title. Champio ...

women's tennis tournament, the 2007 Military World Games, the 2009 World Badminton Championships and the 2009 IBSF World Snooker Championship. Regular events held in Hyderabad are;

and Deccan Derby. The city is set to host the Hyderabad ePrix from 2022 onwards, as a part of the

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, wh ...

calendar

Sports persons

International-level sportspeople from Hyderabad include: cricketers Ghulam Ahmed, M. L. Jaisimha, mahesh devnani, Mohammed Azharuddin,

V. V. S. Laxman Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman (; born 1 November 1974) is a former Indian international cricketer and a former cricket commentator and pundit. A right-hand batsman known for his elegant stroke play, Laxman played as a middle-order batsman in T ...

Venkatapathy Raju Sagi Lakshmi Venkatapathy Raju, sometimes spelt Venkapathy Raju (born 9 July 1969) is a former Indian cricketer , cricket administrators & cricket coach. He came into the Indian side in 1989–90 after capturing 32 wickets in the domestic seaso ...

, Shivlal Yadav, Arshad Ayub, Syed Abid Ali, Mithali Raj and Noel David; football players Syed Abdul Rahim, Syed Khaja Moinuddin,

Syed Nayeemuddin Syed Nayeemuddin (born 1944), known as Nayeem, is an Indian football coach and former player. He played for and was captain of the Indian national teamShabbir Ali; tennis player

Sania Mirza Sania Mirza (; born 15 November 1986) is an Indian professional tennis player. A former doubles world No. 1, she has won six major titles – three in women's doubles and three in mixed doubles. From 2003 until her retirement from singles ...

; badminton players S. M. Arif,

Pullela Gopichand Pullela Gopichand (born 16 November 1973) is a former Indian badminton player. Currently, he is the Chief National Coach for the India national badminton team. He won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001, becoming the second In ...

Saina Nehwal Saina Nehwal (; born 17 March 1990) is an Indian professional badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles, which includes ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world's 2nd in 2009, it was only in 2015 ...

P. V. Sindhu Pusarla Venkata Sindhu (born 5 July 1995) is an Indian badminton player. Considered one of India's most successful sportspersons, Sindhu has won medals at various tournaments such as the Olympics and on the BWF circuit, including a gold at th ...

Jwala Gutta Jwala Gutta; family names traditionally precede personal names in Telugu naming customs (born 7 September 1983) is an Indian badminton player. Beginning in the late 1990s, she represented India at international events in both mixed and women' ...

and Chetan Anand; hockey players Syed Mohammad Hadi and Mukesh Kumar; rifle shooters Gagan Narang and Asher Noria and bodybuilder Mir Mohtesham Ali Khan.

Sports and Stadiums

The Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium. The new Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium has a capacity of 55,000 spectators, including an ultra-modern gymnasium along with a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

. It has been recently accorded Test match status by the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the '' ...

. and serves as a home ground of Hyderabad Cricket Association. The Swarnandhra Pradesh Sports Complex and the G. M. C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium at Gachibowli are associated specially for hockey and

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 ...

. SAAP Tennis Complex has a central court that holds 4000 spectators and has seven courts with synthetic surface, a sophisticated

Velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

for cycling at

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. ...

. The Saroornagar Indoor Arena and The KBR Stadium are multi-purpose indoor sports facilities for, ping-pong,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

equestrianism 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 ...

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; pro ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, 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 ...

sepak takraw Sepak takraw, or Sepaktakraw, also called kick volleyball, is a team sport played with a ball made of rattan or synthetic plastic between two teams of two to four players on a court resembling a badminton court. It is similar to volleyball and ...

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 ...

. The Aquatics Complex Stadium at Gachibowli, can host all water sports and synchronized events, with a capacity of 3000 spectators. Water games like rowing, yachting,

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits faci ...

, and

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other act ...

are conducted at Hussain Sagar lake. The city also has five Go-Karting tracks and a

Paint Ball Paintball is a competitive team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called paintballs that break upon impact. Paintballs are usually shot using low-energy a ...

Field. * Gachibowli Athletic Stadium : This stadium has a capacity of 30,000 spectators. It is an ultra modern stadium with 8 line competition synthetic athletic track and 4-lane synthetic practice track. It uses the latest high-mast lighting for day-night events and provides obstruction-free viewing for all spectators and is a very picturesque stadium amidst breath-taking landscape. * G. M. C. Balayogi SATS Indoor Stadium : This stadium has a capacity of around 5,000 spectators, fully air-conditioned, and a multi-purpose stadium. It has wooden flooring which is approved by International Federation and is up to DIN standards. *Aquatics Complex : This stadium has a capacity of 2000 spectators, is an aquatic complex for swimming, diving,

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...

and synchronized events. It is a temperature controlled pool through modern heating systems and fibre-reinforced polymer filters. *Swarnandhra Pradesh Sports Complex : Located in Gachi Bowli, this sports complex uses a synthetic turf with sophisticated sprinkler system for watering and drainage and has galleries with RC flat slabs and unique suspended steel roof structure. Pavilion housing the Federation Office and amenities including lounges for players, guests and media. *Fateh Maidan Sports Complex : One of the oldest sports establishments of the city, it is located at Basheerbagh in central

. Literally translated, the name 'Fateh Maidan' means 'victory ground'. It consists of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, the newly constructed ultra-modern SAAP Tennis Complex & a multi-purpose Indoor Stadium among other establishments. * The Lal Bahadur Stadium : This stadium has a capacity of 25,000 spectators and is equipped with floodlights around the field and provision of internal lights for the spectators. With dimensions 105 m x 70 m field and a grass turf. The Stadium is run by the Sports Authority of Telangana, SAAP, was till recently the main cricket stadium for holding International cricket matches in the city. *SAAP Tennis Complex, Fateh Maidan : This central court has a capacity of 4000 spectators and has a 7 top class synthetic surfaces. * G. Bhaskar Rao Indoor Stadium : This multi-purpose stadium has a capacity of 2000 spectators and adopts a world class wooden flooring with temperature control. *Shooting Range, Hyderabad Central University : This is an outdoor

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by military ...

with a capacity of 600 spectators and facilities for 120 competitors at a time, with facilities for 15 different games at a time using latest electronic target equipment. * Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium (formerly known as Visaka International Stadium) : This is an exclusive cricket stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad. It has a capacity of 55,000 spectators and is built over space. It provides one of the best facilities for the cricketers and best rest rooms in the world. The first match held in this stadium was between South Africa and India

City based clubs

Gallery

File:Gachibowli Outdoor 75.JPG, G. M. C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium File:Gachibowli Outdoor 35.JPG, G. M. C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium File:Gachibowli Indoor 09.JPG, G. M. C. Balayogi SATS Indoor Stadium File:Gachibowli Swimming 53.JPG, Gachibowli Aquatic Complex Image:hockystadium.jpg, Swarnandhra Pradesh Sports Complex, Gachibowli Image:Flagbearers 2003.jpg, A view of the Participants' flag-bearers.

References

{{Hyderabad topics Sport in Hyderabad, India