Sports in Gujarat

Sports retain a very valuable position in the culture of Gujarat. Some of the popular sports played in Gujarat are cricket, kho-kho, badminton, football, kabaddi and table tennis. The Sports Authority of Gujarat presides and supervises the sporting activities under the Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department. There have been many successful and popular initiatives undertaken by the authority to encourage the sports culture in Gujarat, Khel Mahakumbh' being an example. Gujarat has various levels of sports competitions including events of both larger and smaller scales.

Important sports events

Khel Mahakumbh

Under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi, the Prime minister of India also the former Chief minister of Gujarat the initiative of ‘Khel Mahakumbh’ (KMK), a mega sporting event was undertaken in the year 2010.[1] Khelo India was initiated nationwide by the Indian Central government keeping Khel Mahakumbh as the base of the initiative.[2]

Sports promote holistic development: This is the reason why KMK is organized in Gujarat every year. The event lasts for about a month and each budding talent showcases their skills and hard work. It not only gives platform to sportsmen but also encourages a competitive but friendly atmosphere among the participants. As there are no age limits; people from any age group can participate in it. It commences at the panchayat level and subsequently, moves on to taluka level and district level. Then, winners at this level meet at state level competitions.

Every year a record participation of 3 million participants is observed.[1] Outstanding performers of KMK get benefits of various schemes run by Sports Authority of Gujarat, District Level Sports School (DLSS), Shaktidoot, Centre of Excellence (COE), Khele Gujarat Summer Coaching Camp, In school Program, Khel Pratibha Puraskar, Mahila Puraskar, etc. are also awarded.[3]

There is also Special Khel Mahakumbh for Divyang players (Physically Challenged) in which more than 35,000 players participate with cash prizes more than ₹5 Crore.

Age Groups Participating in Khel Mahakumbh

Khel Mahakumbh has no restrictions on age bar. The bifurcation of age groups is as follows:[2]

  • Under 9 Boys/ Girls
  • Under 11 Boys/ Girls
  • Under 14 Boys/ Girls
  • Under 17 Boys/ Girls
  • Above 40 Veterans Men/ Women
  • Above 60 Veterans Men/ Women
  • Open Age Group

Pro Kabaddi League

Pro Kabaddi League is an initiative by Mashal Sports Pvt. Ltd and Star India Pvt. Ltd.[4] There have been many innovations since its commencement in 2014, which is a reason for its tremendous growth in popularity. It is backed by Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, and supported by participating members of the International Kabaddi Federation and the Asian Kabaddi Federation. The League is currently participated in by 12 teams, each split region-wise.[5] Gujarat Fortune Giants represents the state in this league. The Pro Kabaddi League matches are hosted in The EKA Arena by TransStadia in Gujarat.[6]

Indian Premier League

Gujarat is represented in the Indian Premier League, by its team Gujarat Titans and Gujarat Lions. Cricket matches are often played in Sardar Patel Stadium, and many Indian Premier League matches are hosted there.[7] There's a huge craze for its matches in the people of Gujarat and India.[8]

Beach Khel Mahakumbh

Beach Khel Mahakumbh refers to the beach-sports fest, a spin off of the Khel Mahakumbh. This fest was held to promote the feasibility of beach-sports and garner new attractions towards the different beaches of Gujarat State.[9] After the event's success and introduction, the Government of Gujarat has strangely not announced any other editions of the fest. The setup of the sports on beaches requires not much efforts, but just a marked area, ball and a goalpost.[10] The fest concluded with a prize distribution ceremony on February 13, 2013, a month later after its commencement.[11] The Sabarmati Riverfront witnessed artificial sandy beach creation to create the same atmosphere as that of a beach and maintain the theme for the final event.[10]

Gujarat Premier League

Gujarat Premier League is a state and franchise - based T20 cricket tournament. It was hosted for 12 days in 2018 and the matches were played in Surat, Ahmedabad and Rajkot. A total of 18 matches were played between the participating six teams. Each team consisted of one former Indian cricketer, three former International players, three new-cap players and domestic stars.[12] The winning team gets a cash prize of Rs 51 lakh(~$71,000), while the runners-up get cash prize of Rs 21 lakh(~$29,000). Also, each participating team gets Rs 2 lakh(~$2800) in addition to the prize amount.[12]

The 6th Asian School Table Tennis Championship

The 6th Asian School Table Tennis Championship is scheduled to be held in Vadodara, Gujarat in August 2019.[13] A total of eight countries including China, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand and UAE are participating in the Championship.[13][14][15][16]

Cricket

The governing body for Cricket in the state is the Gujarat Cricket Association. It is affiliated to BCCI.[17] There are three international standard stadiums in Gujarat - in Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Baroda. There are many other stadiums where domestic level cricket is played. There are many prominent players from Gujarat including Cheteshwar Pujara, Parthiv Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel

Badminton

Badminton as a sports is still developing in Gujarat under its regulating authority, the Gujarat Badminton Association. It is affiliated with the Gujarat Olympic Association and Badminton Association of India. The Association finds talented pool of players and refers them for higher level tournaments by organizing various competitions.[18] Many prominent players in Badminton hail from Gujarat, including Tasnim Mir and Ami Ghia. There are district, state and national level tournaments held in the state.[19]

Volleyball

Volleyball is played extensively in schools and residential colonies. Open Gujarat Volleyball Tournament is a famous event. Prominent players from Gujarat in Volleyball include the Vala Sisters.[20][21] Gujarat holds many district, state and national level tournaments. to develop this sport.[22]

Table Tennis

The Gujarat State Table Tennis Association is responsible for developing this sport in the state.[23] It is affiliated to governing body of country for this sport. It organizes various competitions to find young talent among the crowd.[18] Some eminent players include Pathik Mehta and Harmeet Desai from Gujarat. In 2019, Harmeet Desai was honored with the Arjuna Award for his outstanding performance in year 2018-2019 as well as his contribution and dedication towards game. Also, Gujarat State Table Tennis Association is coming up with Gujarat Super League Table Tennis.

Chess

Gujarat has produced many grand masters including Tejas Bakre and Ankit Rajpare[24] There are many national level competitions organized in the state by All India Chess Federation for many age groups.[25][26] One International GM Open was held from 5 October 2018 to 12 October 2018[27] and the second International GM is scheduled in September 2019.[28]

References
  1. "Gujarat: 47 lakh students to take part in 'Khel Mahakumbh' this year, says CM Rupani". The Indian Express. 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  2. "Khel Mahakumbh About Us".
  3. "Khel Mahakumbh gets into a professional mode". The Indian Express. 2014-09-15. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  4. "About PKL". VIVO Pro Kabaddi. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  5. "vivo Pro Kabaddi League 2019". VIVO Pro Kabaddi. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  6. "The five biggest talking points from the Ahmedabad leg". VIVO Pro Kabaddi Website. 2019-08-17. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  7. "IPL 8 Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad Match Schedule | IPLT20 2015". www.cricwindow.com. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  8. "IPL क्रेज, यंगस्टर्स ने होटल-रेस्टारेंट में डिनर के साथ लिए मैच के मजे". Dainik Bhaskar (in Hindi). 2017-04-06. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  9. Beach Sports Proposal. Gandhinagar: Sports Authority of Gujarat. 2014. pp. All.
  10. "Beach sports in Khel Mahakumbh | Latest News & Updates at DNAIndia.com". DNA India. 2011-12-23. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  11. Darji, Himanshu (2013-02-11). "Beach Khel Mahakumbh to conclude at Sabarmati Riverfront". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  12. "Gujarat Premier League to start on May 28". Business Standard India. 2018-03-19. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  13. "Baroda to host Asian school TT tournament". The Times of India. August 14, 2010. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  14. "Vadodara to host UTT 6th Asian School Table Tennis Championship". Connect Gujarat. 2019-08-12. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  15. "96 players for 6th Asian School TT tournament". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 2019-08-12. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  16. "96 players for 6th Asian School TT tournament". State Times. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  17. "GCA-Gujarat Cricket Association". www.gujaratcricketassociation.com. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  18. "Sports Activities in Gujarat, Stadiums in Gujarat, Khel Mahakumbh". www.gujaratonline.in. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  19. "Project Name". www.badmintonindia.org. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  20. "Real-Life Dangal: How Volleyball Transformed This Gujarat Village & Produced World Champions". The Better India. 2017-07-17. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  21. Yagnik, Bharat (July 17, 2017). "gujarat sisters win medal: Four sisters of Sarakhdi village star in 'Dangal' tale". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  22. "ASC win volleyball meet". Ahmedabad Mirror. April 19, 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  23. "Gujarat State Table Tennis Association |". Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  24. "In Rajpara, Gujarat gets its 2nd grandmaster". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  25. "National U-13 Rd.2-4: Nine Players with Full Score". Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  26. "GM Rohit Lalith Babu wins National Chess Rapid title – All India Chess Federation | Official Website". Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  27. "1st Gujarat International GM Open". Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  28. "2nd Gujarat International Open GM Chess Tmt 2019". Retrieved 2019-09-04.
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