Sports and Outdoors in Delhi
For a sports loving person, Delhi is an ideal place to live in and
have your sports hobbies fulfilled. Delhi has good facilities in sports
like tennis, cricket, hockey and football. There are training academies,
clubs and district teams that get maximum exposure to compete with
world standards.
Sports in Delhi can not be said to
be of world standards but it definitely has facilities that are helping
young talents to groom. Sports facilities
in Delhi include stadium and training academies for popular
sports in India like Cricket, Golf, Tennis, Soccer, basketball, Badminton,
Swimming, etc. Delhi has had the privilege and honour of hosting the
first and the ninth Asian Games in 1851
and 1982 respectively. It has once again got the chance to host the
mega sports event, the Commonwealth
games 2010. This will be the first time when Indian is hosting
such a big event after Asian games. Commonwealth games 2010 would
the second occasion when the event is taking place in Asia. Delhi
won the right to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games by defeating the
Canadian city of Hamilton by 46 votes to 22 at the CGF General Assembly
held in Montego Bay in November 2003.
Commonwealth games in 2010 have brought
a lot of goods to Delhi. Indeed, it has changed the face and fate
of Delhi as Delhi is witnessing a lot of developmental activities
in the past few months and more to come up till the time when Commonwealth
games start. The process of development, improvement in infrastructure
and revamping Delhi is under progress. But what about the sports facilities
that is the most important aspect of the event. Well, the government
has long list of plans at its disposal, which is being implemented
and worked on. Commonwealth games village is being constructed on
a 40-acre site near the heart of the city. The proposed village would
have the capacity of around 8,500 athletes and officials. The new
and existing stadiums in Delhi would be used to host games like Aquatics,
Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Cycling, EAD Events, Gymnastics, Hockey,
Lawn Bowls, Netball, Rugby 7s, Shooting, Squash, Table Tennis, Weightlifting
and Wrestling.
Delhi has a number of sports complexes in and around Delhi which is
being run and maintained by DDA. Sports facilities
in Delhi include golf, tennis, soccer, basketball, cricket,
swimming and many others. Siri Fort sport complex offers the best
of facilities. Other new stadiums are coming up in Delhi which will
be used in the Commonwealth games 2010. There are other clubs and
sports complexes in different parts of the city whose membership varies
from corporate membership to temporary membership.
While talking of sports in India, if
we are leaving behind cricket then we are not doing justice to the
sentiments of millions of people in India. Also, cricket
deserves the accreditation it receives because the game has given
India a lot of pride and fame. Also, cricket is being treated as a
religion in India with major corporate brands depending on cricket
icons for their advertising campaigns. The popularity of the sport
can be judged by the very fact that you get up early in the morning
and find children playing at every possible space available. The so
called maidans in the city are filled with grooming talents trying
their hands in the much loved sport of India.
Delhi’s only international venue, Firoz Shah Kotla has been
the host of many historic clashes between top cricket playing nations
of the world. It has had the privilege of hosting the first ever
test match in the post independent India when the touring West Indies
under John Goddyard visited India in 1948. The stadium also has
to its name the honour of hosting the historic clash between India
and Pakistan where Anil Kumble made a world record by taking all
ten wickets of Pakistan.
There is no denying the fact that cricket is the most popular game
in India but there other sports as well, including soccer, tennis,
golf, badminton, swimming, kart racing, weightlifting and table
tennis that are becoming more popular day by day.
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