Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium is a field hockey stadium at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Named after M. Radhakrishna Pillai, it was the venue to the 1996 Men's Champions Trophy, and hosted the tournament again in December 2005. It was also the venue for 2007 edition of Asian Hockey Championship, in which India triumphed by a thumping margin of 7–2 over South Korea. The stadium is also the venue for all division matches of the Chennai Hockey Association and the home ground of the World Series Hockey team Chennai Cheetahs.
Brent James Livermore OAM is a field hockey midfielder from Australia. He was first selected in the Australian team in 1997, and was awarded the Kookaburras player of the year award in 2001. He was also nominated of the FIH Player of the Year awards in 2002 and 2005. He has played over 300 matches for the Australian team, and has scored 30 international goals. He plays for the NSW Waratahs in the Australian Hockey League.
The Beighton Cup is a field hockey tournament organized by Hockey Bengal. Instituted in 1895, it is one of the oldest field hockey tournaments in the world and is held every year in Kolkata.
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. The sports related infrastructure is mainly concentrated in Bangalore which also played host to the 4th National Games of India in the year 1997. Bangalore is also the location of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) which is the premier sports institute in the country. Karnataka is sometimes referred to as the cradle of Indian swimming because of high standards in swimming compared to other states.
The clan of Kodavas in the Indian state of Karnataka have a long history of association with the game of field hockey. The district of Kodagu which is the land of the Kodavas is considered as the cradle of Indian hockey. More than 50 Kodavas have represented India in international hockey tournaments, out of which 7 have also participated in Olympics. B P Govinda, M P Ganesh, M M Somaiya, C S Poonacha are some of the prominent Kodavas who have represented India. The passion for hockey in Kodagu is so much that more than 200 families participate in an annual hockey festival. This festival is recognised as one of the largest field hockey tournaments in the world and has been referred to the Guinness Book of Records. However it has already found a mention in the Limca Book of Records, which is an Indian variant of the Guinness Book.
Ajit Pal Singh Kular was an Indian professional field hockey player from Sansarpur, Punjab. He was the captain of the Indian hockey team. He was conferred the Arjuna Award in 1970, and awarded it in 1972. He played at centre half position. He was captain of the Indian team at the Hockey World Cup 1975 held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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, field hockey, football and formula racing and squash are the other popular sports. The city hosts an 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 Viswanathan Anand, the former multiple World Chess Champion.
Sardara Singh, sometimes referred as Sardar Singh, is an Indian field hockey coach and former field hockey player. He also served as the captain of the Indian national team. He usually plays the center half position. Sardara became the youngest player to captain the Indian team when he led the side at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015. On 13 July 2016, the responsibilities of the captain were handed over from him to P. R. Sreejesh, the goalkeeper of Indian Team. On 12 September 2018, Sardara announced his retirement from international hockey. He played 314 matches during 12 years in his career.
Stanes Schools are two schools in Coimbatore and Coonoor.
Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh is a former Indian field hockey player. He is currently serving as the head coach of the India men's national U-21 field hockey team. He was a former captain of the Indian national team and played as a goalkeeper. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goal keepers in the history of field hockey. Sreejesh played a vital role in the Indian national team's bronze medal wins at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.
José Brasa is a Spanish field hockey coach. He is the current coach of Royal Ombrage Hockey Club in Belgium.
Sandeep Singh is an Indian professional field hockey player from Haryana and an ex-captain of the Indian national hockey team. He generally features as a full back and is a penalty corner specialist for the team. He has been dubbed "Flicker Singh" in the media for his specialization of the drag-flick, one of the fastest in the world.
World Series Hockey (WSH) was a professional league for field hockey competition in India. It was organised by Indian Hockey Federation with the objective to reinvigorate hockey in India. It was contested among eight franchise-based teams consisting of players from India and around the world. The entire event took place on home and away basis culminating into multi header playoffs. Australian Dennis Meredith, a member of the FIH panel of tournament directors, was the technical director of the WSH. It was sponsored by tyre manufacturers, Bridgestone, and therefore officially known as Bridgestone World Series Hockey.
Chennai Cheetahs (CCH) was an Indian professional field hockey team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu that played in World Series Hockey. It was owned by Chennai Sports Organisers Private Limited (CSO). The team was captained by the Australian Brent Livermore and coached by the Spaniard Jose Brasa. The team's home ground was Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium.
Pune Strykers was an Indian professional field hockey team based in Pune, Maharashtra that played in the World Series Hockey. The team was owned by Sai Grace Sports & Events Private Limited. PCMC Hockey Stadium in Pune is the home ground of Pune Strykers.
Somwarpet Vittalacharya Sunil is an Indian former field hockey player who played for the Indian national team. He represented India during the 2012 London Olympics and won silver with them at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He received the Arjun Award in 2017.
Many sports are played by the people of Tamil Nadu including both traditional sports and sports from other countries. Also Tamil Nadu is emerging as the Sports Capital State of Indian Subcontinent.
Manpreet Singh Pawar is an Indian field hockey player and a four time Olympian from Punjab. He led the Indian field hockey team to the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He plays as a halfback.
Nithin Thimmaiah Nithin Thimmaiah is an Indian Field Hockey player from Kodagu (Coorg) district, Karnataka. He represented the Indian Hockey team in various international tournaments since his debut in 2012. He currently represents the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in domestic hockey.
Anil Alexander Aldrin is a former Indian hockey player who played for the India national field hockey team. His family hailed from Kerala in a place named Murukanpuzha in Trivandrum. He played as a defender for India from 1992 to 1999 and captained the country during his last years in 1999. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics at Atlanta. He also played in the Asian Games in 1994 and 1998, winning the gold in his second appearance at Bangkok, and he represented India in Champions Trophy in 1995 and 1996 at home in Madras. He also played two World Cups in 1994 in Sydney and under coach Vasudevan Baskaran in 1998 at Utrecht, the Netherlands. He serves as the Sports Director at Vidyashilp Academy, Bengaluru, India.
