Sports in Kerala
Football was introduced to the land of Kerala during pre-independence period by British officers of the Malabar Special Police (MSP) in the 20th century.
MSP was camped in Malappuram and soon the natives began adopting the sport, who played in post-harvest paddy fields.
The northern (Malabar region) and middle parts of Kerala, especially Malappuram and Thrissur, are famous for football-crazy.
produced many Indian International footballers such as I. M. Vijayan, V. P. Sathyan, C. V. Pappachan, Jo Paul Ancheri, Victor Manjila, E.N.
Vineeth, Anas Edathodika, Sahal Abdul Samad, Rino Anto, Rahul Kannoly Praveen, Ashique Kuruniyan, N.P Pradeep, Krishnan Nair Ajayan, Zakeer Mundampara, Usman Ashik, Muhammed Sagar Ali, Denson Devadas, C. S. Sabeeth, Mohamed Irshad, Asif Kottayil, Sushanth Mathew, and many more.
Gokulam Kerala played all their matches at the EMS Stadium which is located in the heart of Kozhikode.
[17] Travancore Royals FC from capital city Trivandrum is first fans owned football club in India.
International Hockey Stadium in Kollam is having a total seating capacity of 5,000[20] built at a cost of Rs.17.55 Crores (US$2.84 Million).
Athletes like T. C. Yohannan, Suresh Babu, P.T.Usha, Shiny Wilson, K. M. Beenamol, Tintu Lukka, Anju Bobby George, Preeja Sreedharan, Renjith Maheshwary are amongst the best Kerala has produced.
[23] Volleyball, another popular sport, is often played on makeshift courts on sandy beaches along the coast.
Jimmy George, born in Peravoor, Kannur, was arguably the most successful volleyball player ever to represent India.
[24] In 1800, commander Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington of British East India Company made Thalassery (then Tellicherry) his administrative base.
[26] Sreesanth (right-arm fast-medium, played 26 tests and 53 ODIs for India) is often regarded as the most successful cricketer from Kerala.
Malayalee clubs, teams, players, both women and men, are some of the most valuable in India, winning several national championships.
It is competed inside an open ring on ground known as godha, usually on a beach; wrestlers are called phayalvans.
[31] Gatta gusthi was popular in the state until late 1960s with the arrival of freestyle wrestling and karate.
[32] Nadan panthu kali is a team sport played in rural villages of Kottayam district and Muvattupuzha Taluk.
This game is played using a small ball made of leather and filled with cotton or coconut fibre.
Scoring points follow the sequence like otta, petta, pidiyan, thalm, Keezhu, Indan and then it repeats.
