There are many kinds of sports activities all over the world, the importance of sports is felt all the more with the increasing work pressures. Life is not the same any more. We need to adopt some or the other sports in life to keep our spirits high. Sport is an amazing career as well. Gone are the days when people were asked, “What they want to be”? Now the new question is “Which sports do you play or follow”?
With cricket becoming the hot sport of India and with the establishment of IPL, the love for the same is seen everywhere and even Indore is not untouched. But the good thing is Indore offers many other sports activities apart from cricket and many clubs and government organizations provides the facilities for the same. New dimensions are opened through the sports activities; out of hundreds of sports many of them are played solo which gives opportunities to the youngsters to adopt any one as a career.
The good thing about sports as a career is apart from giving an individual an aim, a direction, money it also gives a glamorous life. This was not the same few years back. Everyone has a dream to play some or the other sport; although only few of us really make it till the end but one should give it a try, who knows what is hidden in the womb of future? You might become the next Sachin Tendulkar or the famous chess champion V. Anand.
From hundreds of sports activities, some common ones available in Indore are:
- Cricket- The most popular game of not only Indore but whole of India, cricket technically needs 12 players in one team. A coin is tossed to make it easy to make a choice to either Field or Bat. Runs are the scores of each team. The team which scores high points wins the games. There are certain specified balls to be thrown, divided into overs of six balls each. Indore has many clubs and stadiums which provide training for this game.
Indore has given some of the famous cricketers like; Col. C.K Naidu , Capt. Mushtaq etc. Residents of Indore are very enthusiastic about this game. Some of the clubs where training for the game are ; M.P Cricket Association, Yeshwant Club, Holkar Cricket Stadium, Nehru International Stadium, Maharaja school Stadium and Khalsa school Stadium.
- Basketball- This is also a team game. Two teams of five players each play this game on a rectangular shaped court. The aim is to shoot the ball through a ring or a hoop 46cm (18 inch) in diameter and at the height of 10 ft. This is world’s most loved and watched sport. Basket ball is played in Indore since decades and many clubs and institutions train teams for the sport.
The city homes many clubs and complex providing training for the game, including one with world class indoor stadium of Basketball. The city has also organised many successful basketball championships. Some of the places in the city of Indore where the sport is played and taught are Basket ball Complex, Lokmanya Vidyanagar Basket ball court and college basket ball court.
- Lawn Tennis- Tennis is played with a tennis racquet and it can either be played against single opponents or as doubles, which means two teams of two players each. The rectangular court is divided by a net and the aim is to hit the hollow rubber ball with the racquet in different directions so that the other player may lose the hit or is unable to play a good return. Indore had held many national and international Tennis tournaments.
The veteran players like Ramnath, Ramesh Krishnan and Jaideep Mukerjee had exhibited their skills in Indore. A much known club of Indore Yashwant club was a host to such events. There are 4 courts in this club including one floodlit court; this court is a regular venue of satellite ranking tournaments. Indore Tennis Club and Indore Residency Club also provide facilities for this game.
- Kabaddi- This is a very interesting wrestling sport played in South Asian countries. It is a national game of Bangladesh and also a state game of Punjab, Tamilnadu and Andra pradesh. It is a team game, two teams are devided and a court is marked. Each team has to send a ‘raider’(one player) in the area of other team and that raider has to touch as many members of the other team as he can while holding his breath and has to return to his team.
If he is unable touch, or loses his breath in another court or takes breath in another court, crosses the border line and a part of raider’s body touches the ground outside the boundary, except while struggling, he is termed as ‘out’. Kabaddi is derived from Tamil language and means ‘Holding Hands’. In international version each team should be of seven members. Kabaddi is a common game in Indore and is played in school and colleges however it is also played in some clubs here such as yashwant sports club and Lucky Wanderers.
- Squash- It is similar to tennis. This game is also played by racquet and a hollow rubber ball. The only difference is that the players have to alternately strike the balls towards the wall. It is an international game and some clubs in Indore also have courts for this sport.
- Swimming- Many clubs in Indore have vast swimming pools. Equipped with world class amenities these pools also have trainers to teach to swim and dive. One such swimming pool is in Yashwant club and Nehru Park.
- Badminton- Badminton is yet another racquet sport; it can also be played against single or two opponents. The court is divided into half by a net and players hit Shuttle cock, nade up of bird feather. The aim is to strike the shuttle cock in opponent’s court in such a way so that opponent is unable to return the shot.
- Snooker - This is a cue sport. The sport typically is played on a table covered with a green cloth or baize. This table has pockets four in the corners and two in the middle of two longer ends. 22 snooker balls are hit with the cue, there are, 1white cue ball, fifteen red balls and six balls of different colors, each ball have specified points. Scoring more points decides the winner. In Indore many clubs provide a snooker table. This sport is gaining popularity day by day. Snooker was invented in India by the officers of British Army.
- Golf- Now Golf lovers can also enjoy the game in the city as a new private Golf Course is developing in the city of Indore. Royal Graha Golf course offers as Golf course with 9 holes. The club although is not formally inaugurated but the golf enthusiasts of the city has starting enjoying this Golf course.
Famous Sports Personalities from Indore
- Amay Khurasiya, studied in Indore (Cricket)
- Chandu Sarwate, lived and died in Indore (Cricket)
- Col. C.K Naidu, first test captain of Indian team (Cricket)
- Jalaj Saxena (Cricket)
- Capt. Mushtaq Ali (Cricket)
- Raj Singh Dungarpur, former BCCI president (Cricket)
- Rahul Dravid (Cricket)
- Minoti Desai (Women Cricket)
- Mir Ranjan Negi, goal keeper, winner of Asian Championship and coach (Hockey)
- Narendra Hirwani (Cricket)
- Sandhya Agarwal (Women Cricket)
- Sanjay Jagdale (Cricket)
- Shankar Lakshman, goalkeeper, winner of 2 gold and 1 silver medal in Olympics, Winner of Asian games (Hockey)
- Capt. Syed Mushtaq Ali (Cricket)