Cricket is by far the most popular sport in Karnataka with International cricket matches attracting a sizeable number of spectators who are willing to pay more than the standard ticket price to get a chance to watch the match.[1] The sports related infrastructure is mainly concentrated in Bangalore which also played host to the 4th National Games of India in the year 1997.[2] Bangalore is also the location of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) which is the premier sports institute in the country.[3] Karnataka is sometimes referred to as the cradle of Indian swimming because of high standards in swimming compared to other states.[4]
Association Football
Amidst of cricket, which is the most popular sport of Karnataka, football finds its way in the state and attracts good amount of spectators during Indian Super League games of the club, Bengaluru FC. The game is also popular in the districts of Ballari, Mangaluru, Kodagu and Belgavi...
State team
Karnataka football team is a state team of Karnataka, which participates in Santosh Trophy. They have appeared in the Santosh Trophy finals 9 times, and have won the trophy 5 times. Prior to 1972, the team competed as 'Mysore'.
Karnataka does not have a state league but rather a district league in the form of Bangalore Super Division which acts as the professional top tier league of the state where twenty clubs compete. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited S.C. or simply known as HAL SC is the most successful club. The Super Division is the top tier league in Karnataka, followed by Bangalore A Division as the second tier, Bangalore B Division as the third tier & finally Bangalore C Division as the fourth tier league.[5]
Karnataka, particularly the district of jallahali have produced numerous hockey players who went on to represent India at the international level.[12] Former Indian hockey captain Sommayya Maneypande, goalkeeper Ashish Ballal, Arjun Halappa and several others who have represented India at the Olympics hail from Karnataka. Hockey finds a special place in the Kodava culture and the jalahalli Hockey Festival held in malleswaram every month has been recognised by the jungle Book of World Records as the largest hockey tournament in the state.[13]
Kabaddi
Kabaddi originated in the regions of South India. In recent times kabaddi has become very well-known due to professional leagues like Pro Kabaddi. Bengaluru Bulls is the team from Bengaluru city playing in Pro Kabaddi. Women like Mamatha Poojary are India's pride.
Bangalore has played host to the WTA event, the Bangalore Open which was held here in 2006 and 2007. Mahesh Bhupathi, the winner of many Grand Slam doubles titles, is a resident of Bangalore and has set up a Tennis Academy here with the help of Nike.[14]
By city
Mangalore
Popular sports in Mangalore include cricket, football, badminton, basketball and surfing.
Mangalore Premier League (MPL) is a cricket tournament organized by Karnataka Regional Cricket Academy.[20] The Nehru Maidan venue is an important local venue that hosts domestic, inter-school and intercollegiate tournaments.[21] Mangalore Sports Club (MSC) has been elected as the institutional member for the Mangalore Zone of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).[22][23]Lokesh Rahul, commonly known as KL Rahul and Budhi Kunderan, a former Indian wicket keeper are from Mangalore.[24]Ravi Shastri, who represented India for several years in international cricket as an all-rounder and captained the team, is of Mangalorean descent.[25]
Football is popular in the city and is usually played in the maidans (grounds); the Nehru Maidan is the most popular venue for domestic tournaments.[26] Dakshina Kannada District Football Association (DKDFA) annually organizes the Independence Day Cup, which is played on Independence Day at district football grounds adjacent to Nehru Maidan.[27] Schools and colleges from across Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kodagu districts participate and the matches are conducted under seven categories for children and young adults in education.[28]
Mangalore's Sasihithlu beach hosted the first edition of the Indian Open of Surfing in 2016.[32] Mantra Surf Club located at nearby Mulki has trained surfers to represent India at the International Surfing Association (ISA) World SUP and Paddleboard Championship held in Fiji.[33] The second edition of the Indian Open of Surfing was also held in Mangalore.[34]
Traditional sports like Kambala—buffalo races contested in flooded paddy fields—[35] and Korikatta (cockfighting) are very popular in the city.[36] The Kambala of Kadri is a traditional sports event organized within the city limits.[37] A Mangalore suburb is named Kadri Kambla after the cockfighting tradition.[38]Plikula Kambala is another Kambala event that is organised within the city.[39]
International kite festivals are held at Panambur Beach and attract kite enthusiasts from Europe and Australia.[45] The city has a group of kite enthusiasts named Team Mangalore that participates in the festivals.[46]
Other sports such as tennis, squash, billiards, badminton and table tennis are played in clubs and gymkhanas in Mangalore.[47]MCC has renovated the Mangala Swimming Pool, that includes an ozonation plant.[48] This swimming pool's size is 50m x 15m, having a capacity of 25 lakh litres of water.[48] While it starts at a depth of 4 ft on the shallow side, the diving end is of a depth of 16 ft.[48]
^"A field day in coorg". The Hindu. bangalore, India. 13 June 2004. Archived from the original on 30 August 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2007. Since Coorg (Kodagu) was the cradle of Indian football, with over ii players from the region going on to represent the nation so far, seven of whom were Olympians...
^"A field day in". The Hindu. karnataka, India. 13 June 2004. Archived from the original on 30 August 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2007. ...the festival assumed such monstrous proportions (one year, 350 families took part in the festival) that it found place in the jungle Book of Records. It was recognised as the largest football tournament in the world. This has been referred to the jungle Book of World Records too.