Turf Culture & Sports Love In Chennai | Book Your Turf With Us

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Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, a south Indian city, with a population of about 1.15 crores, is our next favorite sports spot. Football is the most prevalent sport in the communities of North Chennai, with young sports fans all over the city. Chennai has always dominated the sports news. But where did it all begin? How did football become the heartbeat of these Tamilian youngsters?

Let’s dive a little into the history of sports in Chennai. Fueled by historical association, Chennai’s sports scenes are as vibrant as it is varied. Cricket began finding popularity here after the Britishers set up the Madras Cricket Club, in 1846, for their recreation. Later, Buchi Babu Naidu went about setting up the Madras United Club (MUC). The MUC also became a pioneer for sports promotion and that’s how football found its roots there here, according to Ravikumar David, former general secretary, Tamil Nadu Football Association. Apart from cricket, hockey and football enjoyed a great fan following during the 1940s. M.A. Chidambaram Stadium is one of the oldest cricket stadiums in India, which is located in Chepauk since ...
... 1916 and has seen many victories, losses and dramas unfolding on the field.
This stadium has been the venue for many notable milestones in the history of Indian cricket.

Chennai has made major contributions to Indian sports, in terms of talented world-class players and sports facilities. The city also holds a place of pride on the world chess map, boasting world-class players such as Manuel Aaron, who became India’s first International Master, and five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand. A list of Grandmasters also populates Chennai’s exquisite chess scene. The Krishnans and Amritraj brothers took Indian tennis to the global stage and the Chennai Open brought the best of international tennis to the city. Chennai’s table tennis game has produced numerous international players. The city has also become the headquarters for squash in the country, while carrom flourishes in North Chennai, which is home to former two-time World Champion in carrom, A.Maria Irudayam. Motorsports, Golf and even Horse Racing are sought after by many in the
city. The city also has produced sportswomen of repute such as Chess GMs S. Vijayalakshmi and Aarthie Ramaswamy, world-class squash players like Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa, national champions in table tennis M.S. Mythili, N.R. Indu and K. Shamini and mid-fielder Indumathi Kathiresan, who represented India in football. Former India Test cricketer Shantha Ramaswamy; India’s top fencer Bhavani Devi; Alisha Abdullah, a trailblazer in bike racing; Woman Grandmaster K. Vaishali; former international hurdler and triple jumper G. Gayathry; tennis stars J. Jayalakshmi and Rushmi Chakravarthi; and Karun Chandhok, the second Indian to have competed in Formula 1, also hail from the city.

Chennai is a city that gives a lot of importance to sports and children, at a young age itself are given training on their favourite sport and are communicated about the importance of being active. These games help in transmitting values such as teamwork, fair play and justice. They have also played a part in bonding many together by contributing to social integration. Chennai is one of the cities with the best sporting spirits, that boasts a strong fan base for various sports.

Football is gaining popularity in Chennai, at a very exponential rate. The football fan base in Chennai is splendid, with youngsters of such passion and zeal. Tournaments such as ISL have provided a forum for the footballers to exhibit their talents and North Chennai has produced a lot of Footballers representing India. “The football league here is the oldest league in India. We had very strong teams such as Wimco, SBI, Railways and ICF. Eachteam had their own fan following as well even in those days,” Mr David said. This love forfootball has resulted in a sudden rise in the number of sports facilities and turf built in Chennai; so much so that it’s a trend now.

One cannot not mention Vyasarpadi when football in Chennai is being discussed. Vyasarpadi is a small place, located in the district of Chennai. This little town has emerged to be called “Chennai’s Mini Brazil”, because of the football culture here. G Paramasivan, football coach and national player, elaborate, “The favorite game of the young and the old here is football. So many players from here have played for state, national and international tournaments. Even in the recent ISL, Dhanpal Ganesh, who is from this locality, played for the team; for Futsal, Nandakumar had played. The reason why this game picked up here is because of the Don Bosco Church. One of the Fathers in the church, a foreigner, not just established the church, the school and formed the Don Bosco Youth Center, but encouraged children to play football, too.” Residents say that football was more than an obsession in the locality.

Suma Ravi, director, South, Child Rights and You (CRY), said, “Football is not just a game, here it has changed lives. Prior to football taking over this town, the pass percentage in schools was only six per cent and now it is 98 per cent.” When Umapathy N, founder of Slum Children Sports Talents Education Development Society (SCSTEDS), set it up, he had 14 kids to train, “Now we have people coming in every day. Playing football also helps the children perform well in school. They become better individuals as well. Since I was born and brought up here, I understand what their needs are and we do our best to adhere to them,” he said.

And this craze for football is not just limited to Vyasarpadi. A huge number of turfs have opened in Chennai in the last couple of years. The most famous of these being Turf Rabonna, V Square Turf, Golazo, Ginga Turf, Strikerz, Jungle Turf, and many more. The enthusiasm and passion the youth of Chennai has towards sports is heartwarming and beautiful to watch. We take pride in the fact that the football culture is flourishing in the state, and we are confident that Chennai will bring about many more talented players for the country.