Sports in Maharashtra : Current Scenario
The term ‘Sports’ is differently pronounced by different languages. Derived from the French word ‘Desport’, meaning leisure time, American dictionary relates the term ‘Sports’ with the physical activities, other languages also define the sport according to their requirement. For instance Persian refer the term Sports with ‘root bord’ which is related to feeling of winning, Chinese refer the term sport to ‘tiyu’ which is related to physical training. No doubt that the same term is differently used by different languages however their meaning is same, which is related to the physical activity performed during course of leisure time and which is based on set of certain rules which are to be followed by every one involved in it.
Unlike several other states of India, Maharashtra also does not have any particular regional sports. However, apart from most common games viz., cricket (indirectly the national game of India), Hockey (the national game of India), Badminton, Lawn Tennis etc, there are some traditional Indian games which are played with full swing namely Kabbadi, Kho-Kho, Gilli Danda etc. But one thing which is common about people of Maharashtra is that they have always played the games which require lot of courage and dare.
The ancient games played in Maharashtra were totally different from the games played today the ancient games included horse riding, wrestling, archery, shooting etc. With the passing time these sports were replaced by Hockey, Volley Ball, Cricket etc. During the early days after independence Hockey was declared as the National Game of India and it was at that time that Indian Hockey flourished its flag through out the world. But since the time India won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 under the captaincy of Kapil Dev, the attraction towards Hockey deteriorated and Cricket in the coming years became the sports of a lay man.
Last two decades have witnessed India emerging as the supreme authority in the various games. Various players from different sports viz cricket, badminton, tennis, chess etc have taken the name of Indian continent to great heights and have marked India as a supreme power in these games. These games have produced a huge fleet of players who are specialized in their fields.
During the ancient times, horse riding, wrestling, fencing, archery and shooting were popular among the rulers of Maharashtra. Now-a-days, cricket, hockey and football are commonly played in Maharashtra. The cricket has attracted great popularity throughout the country, and Maharashtra is not an exception to that. In fact, cricket is a religion of sports in Maharashtra, and during important one-day internationals or test matches where India takes part, the excitement reaches a crescendo of sorts.
Maharashtra has produced a number of eminent cricketers of international and national repute like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Pravin Amre, Ajit Agarkar, and Ravi Shastri. They have left the remarkable history behind them and have made milestones which are not reachable. Sachin Tendulkar is known as the 'Master-blaster'. With the introduction of Indian Premier League (IPL) the passion towards cricket is at peak.
After cricket the most famous sports in Maharashtra is Football which is especially played during the monsoon season. The FIFA world cup is watched with huge enthusiasm. Despite of this there are numerous clubs and academies providing proper coaching of different games such as squash, billiards, badminton, table tennis, golf, boxing etc. India’s only rugby club is located in Mumbai. Recently another excited sport which has attracted the people of Maharastra towards it is Formula 1 racing contest.
Apart from the regular sports the state of Maharashtra is also the suitable place of adventurous sports. Being surrounded by hilly regions and mountains adventure sports like trekking and mountaineering are widely played in Maharashtra.