Sport in Chennai

Cricket is the most popular sport in Chennai. The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium is one of the oldest cricket stadiums in India and has been the venue for many notable milestones in the history of Indian cricket. Tennis, hockey, football and racing are other popular sports. The city hosts as ATP tennis event, the Chennai Open. Chennai has a rich legacy in chess and has produced many well-known chess players, the most notable of them being Vishwanathan Anand, the current World Chess Champion.

Cricket

Cricket is the most popular sport in Chennai. The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium (formerly known as Madras Cricket Club ground or Chepauk Stadium) in Chepauk and popularly called the MAC, is one of the oldest cricket stadiums in India built in 1916. It seats more than 50,000 and is home to the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. The stadium is famous for its list of records, including the first ever test match victory that India recorded in 1951–52 when they defeated England, the second of only two tied tests between India and Australia in 1986 and Saeed Anwar's 194 in 1999 which is still the highest ODI score by a batsman. [cite web
url = http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/ground/58008.html
title = MA Chidambaram stadium
publisher = Cricinfo.com
accessdate = 2007-09-13] The Chemplast Cricket Ground in the IIT Madras campus is another important cricket venue, which hosts first class matches. [cite web
url = http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/ground/58005.html
title = IIT-Chemplast stadium
publisher = Cricinfo.com
accessdate = 2007-09-13] Prominent cricketers from Chennai include former Test-captains S. Venkataraghavan and Kris Srikkanth. The internationally renowned cricket bowling academy, the MRF Pace Foundation under the directorship of famous fast bowler Dennis Lillee is based in Chennai.

Tennis

Tennis is another popular game in Chennai. The city hosts an ATP event, the Chennai Open, at the SDAT Tennis Stadium in Nungambakkam. The stadium seats about 6,000 spectators and has five synthetic surface courts. The tournament was awarded the title of the best new event in its second year by the Association of Tennis Professionals. Indian tennis stars such as Ramanathan Krishnan, Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan and Mahesh Bhupathi hail from Chennai. [cite web
url = http://www.chennaiopen.org
title = About the venue
publisher = International Management Group
accessdate = 2007-09-13] Leander Paes did his schooling and was trained in Chennai. One of India's top tennis training academies, the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy is based in Chennai.

Hockey

Chennai is home to a Premiere Hockey League team, the "Chennai Veerans". The Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, with a seating capacity of 4000, is the venue for hockey matches in the city. The stadium has twice hosted the Champions Trophy, featuring the top six teams in the world, in 1996 and 2005. [cite web
url = http://www.hindu.com/2004/10/20/stories/2004102004161800.htm
title = Radhakrishnan stadium to have new turf
publisher = The Hindu
accessdate = 2007-09-13]

Athletics and swimming

Football (soccer) and athletic competitions are held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which seats 40,000. The complex also houses a multi-purpose indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 8,000 which hosts various competitions including volleyball, basketball, table tennis. The Velachery Aquatic Complex seats 4,000 and hosts various water sports. Chennai was the venue of the SAF Games in 1995.

Racing

The city has a long-standing and thriving motorsports culture. Motor racing events are held at the Sriperumbudur track for cars and the Sholavaram track for motorcycles. A racing track has been developed at Irungattukottai opposite the Hyundai factory, where races of the FISSME class, 1300 CC class and 1600 CC class are held. The Guindy Race Course for horse racing was set up in 1777. [cite web
url = http://www.iroa.com/history.htm
title = Racing in India
publisher = International Racehorse Owners Association
accessdate = 2007-09-13] The Madras Boat Club, founded in 1867, hosts rowing competitions. The city has two 18-hole golf courses: the Cosmopolitan Club and the Gymkhana Club golf course, both of which were established in the late 19th century. Chennai was the venue for the first Commonwealth Junior Fencing Championships held in 2006.

Chess

Vishwanathan Anand, the current World Chess Champion, hails from Chennai. Manuel Aaron, Krishnan Sasikiran and S. Vijayalakshmi are other chess players of repute from the city.

Table tennis

Chennai is home to popular Table tennis players Sharath Kamal and Subramanian Raman, both gold medalists at the Commonwealth Games and winners of the Arjuna award. Sharath has been ranked the nation's top player four times in a row, between 2002 and 2006, and Raman is a former national champion. You can expect another upcoming trainee as a new legend.

Sepak Takraw

The Chennai Sepak Takraw League is a major attraction in chennai for Sepak Takraw (One of the toughest sport in the world). Players from all over Tamil Nadu participate in the league to represent their club. Tamil Nadu Mens team is one of the top leading team in India and many players from Tamil Nadu represented India.

Other

Chennai is home to a rugby union team called the Chennai Cheetahs. India's only Arjuna awardee for Carrom and two-time world champion, Maria Irudayam, is also a native of Chennai.

Notes

The Chennai Cheetahs Rugby club was founded in 1997 by four software professionals . The team is now ranked number 2 in the country and were the All India Champions in 2004 and 2006 . They also won the South India ten a side tournament in 2007 and All India sevens in 2005.

The Chennai Sepak Takraw League provides spectacular event for Sepak Takraw in which four teams all over Tamil Nadu participate.