Things that define sports in Mumbai

The city is squeezed for space, but it gives people the room to chase their sporting dreams. It has churned out legendary cricketers and hosts some of the nation’s most prestigious sporting events.

Mumbai marathon: When the city steps out for a run

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It’s a Sunday when the city gets out of its cars, steps out on the streets and goes for a run, or steps out and cheers the runners. Flagged off on a Sunday morning in January for the past nine years, the Mumbai marathon has become the city’s mass celebration of sports. The vibrant flags, quirky banners, colourful costumes and cheering crowds lend it a carnival atmosphere.

From fiercely competitive professionals to celebrities, charities, companies and the aam admi, the Mumbai marathon attracts just about everyone. This January saw 38,775 people participate in the event, up from last year’s 38,430.

So far, the Kenyan men and Ethiopian women have dominated the podium.

The Mumbai marathon has steadily built its reputation as a world-class competition — from being stamped as a ‘silver label road race’ in 2009 by the International Association of Athletics Federation to being upgraded to a ‘gold label class race’ in 2011. It is now clubbed alongside the best 15 marathon races around the world, such as those in London, Tokyo and New York.

There’s such a huge rush for registrations, which generally open six months in advance (in July), that they close in just a couple of weeks. So be prepared and sign up.

The only monsoon league in the world: Kanga

Any Kanga League player will be able to tell you that cricket and the Mumbai monsoon make for a heady combination. Perhaps the only monsoon cricket league in the world, the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Kanga League was set up in 1948.

The tournament was started to familiarise players with weather conditions in England, the game’s headquarters then, so that they would find it easier to cope there. The Kanga League has played its part in establishing Mumbai’s batting legacy, and those who grew up playing in the League are better off for the experience, as it helps batsmen learn to adapt to challenging conditions.

Played on Sundays during the monsoon months, the sky is more often than not grey and cloudy, the ground has a thick, lush grass covering and the wicket is green — a colour that batsmen dread. A Kanga hundred is worth several in normal conditions.

The current generation of stars does not find time for its hectic schedule, but the Gavaskars, Manjrekars and Vengsarkars understood its value and never missed an opportunity to test themselves in the trying conditions of this League.

And then there is the rare breed of cricketers who only take out their gear for the Kanga League.

MSSA: The springboard for professional sports

Any child and any parent who has a child planning to pursue a career in sports will be familiar with the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA). Earlier known as the Bombay High Schools Athletic Association, it's a non-profit organisation that was set up by Sir Dorabji Jamshedji Tata in 1893. It started with only the Tata Athletic Shield, but now covers 19 different sports and has 400 schools and more than 60,000 students associated with it. Its inter-school football tournament for various age groups, played at Azad Maidan through the monsoon, is gaining huge popularity, with more than 100 schools participating in the event, which has become a stepping stone to the state team.

Not surprisingly, though, cricket steals the show at the MSSA as well. Every boy headed to become a professional cricketer will invariably represent his school in the 111-year-old Giles Shield (U-14) and the 116-year-old Harris Shield (U-16), which are played across maidans in Mumbai.

Mumbai school of batsmanship: How legends were created

When it comes to sport, you cannot leave out Mumbai’s glorious tradition of batsmanship. Ever since the first cricket tournament won crowd approval late in the 19th century — in the form of the Bombay Triangular (which was later expanded into the Quadrangular and Pentangular) — Mumbai has been the hub of Indian cricket. No wonder, then, that the city has produced almost one-fourth of India’s total Test cricketers so far. More than three-fourth of these have been willow-wielders.

The coaches have focused on and created technically sound batsmen, and the results have paid more dividends than even the coaches expected — in the form of Nari Contractor (1950s), Dilip Sardesai (1960s), Ajit Wadekar (1960s and 1970s), Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar (1970s and 1980s) and Sachin Tendulkar (from late 1980s to date).

Though critics feel Mumbai’s stronghold over batsmanship is on the decline, two of India's brightest batsmen — Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane — are Mumbaiites.

Maidan culture: One space, many games

In a city starved of open spaces, the maidans are the lifeblood of sports. These huge public parks are the best gift that the British rulers have given to sports lovers.

From cricket and football to traditional sports such as kabaddi, kho kho and mallakhamb, all kinds of games are learnt, practised and played at these maidans. Youngsters from far-flung suburbs travel for hours to these maidans in pursuit of their sporting dreams.

It’s not the typical sports field with a grass carpet. Mumbai’s maidans — the Azad, Cross and Oval maidans in south Mumbai, Shivaji Park in Dadar and Major Ramesh Dhadkar Maidan in Matunga, among several others — are dusty, rough expanses that spring to life in the morning and the evenings.

Tiny tents headquarter hundreds of cricket clubs; footballers find space to play between the squares of cricket fields; and the kabaddi teams use the soft corners.

The scene is most vibrant on Sundays, when dozens of cricket games are played within a few metres of each other.

Cooperage: Playing host to city footballers, national leagues

If there’s a mecca for football fanatics in the city, it has to be the Cooperage football ground. From the days of the Rovers Cup that was started in 1891 to the current national league, the I-League, the Cooperage has played host to top-level football tournaments in the country. Back in the day, the ground also hosted rugby and hockey tournaments such as the Aga Khan Cup.

It is home to the Western India Football Association and hosts matches between September and April, for which tickets are available at the gate.

For the past two years though, owing to renovation, no competitive game has been played here. But that will change in the months to come.

After Fifa president Sepp Blatter allotted a whopping $8 million in grants for football infrastructure in India in 2007, the Cooperage has been refurbished at a cost of $2 million, with artificial turf, renovated dressing rooms, floodlights and new stands.

The Manchester United Soccer School has also made the Cooperage its home, in a bid to hone the skills of talented youngsters in the city.

Mallakhamb: Traditional sports has takers too

Cricket and football may rule, but the traditional Indian sport of mallakhamb remains popular in the city The Samarth Vyayam Mandir at Shivaji Park, established in 1925, remains the main centre for learning and performing mallakhamb, in which a gymnast performs feats and poses using a vertical wooden pole or rope as a prop.

The word ‘mallakhamb’ refers to the pole. Uday Deshpande, head coach at the Mandir, trains about 200 students, an equal mix of young boys and girls, most of whom are from Mumbai. The sport is now gaining popularity among older women between 45 and 50 years of age who want to keep fit.

The sport is also attracting attention internationally. In January, a German team comprising young athletes visited the Shivaji Park institute for the second time, to hone their skills. After a 10-day camp, the team performed at an event held at the Mandir.

An Indian team has been visiting Germany for the past eight years to conduct workshops and teach the Germans more about the sport.