Sports
See also: Indian Grand Prix and Uttar Pradesh Cricket AssociationPopular sports in Uttar Pradesh can be divided into two groups: traditional sports and modern sports of mainly European origin. Athletes from the state have included the field hockey player Dhyan Chand, Olympic shooter Nawab Mian, volleyball player Sanjiv Balian, and the wrestler Anuj.
Traditional sports, now played mostly as a pastime, include wrestling, swimming, kabaddi, and track- or water-sports played according to local traditional rules and without modern equipment. Some sports are designed to display martial skills such as using a sword or ‘Pata’ (stick). Due to lack of organised patronage and requisite facilities, these sports survive mostly as individuals' hobbies or local competitive events. Among modern sports, field hockey is popular and Uttar Pradesh has produced some of the finest players in India, including Dhyan Chand and, more recently, Nitin Kumar and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay.
Recently, cricket has become more popular than field hockey. Uttar Pradesh won its first Ranji Trophy tournament in February 2006, beating Bengal in the final. It can also boast of routinely having 3 or 4 players on the national side. Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, the only internationally recognised cricket stadium in the state, has witnessed some of India's most famous victories. Faizabad Sports Complex is another sports venue in Uttar Pradesh which includes Faizabad International Sports Stadium. Greater Noida Cricket Stadium is another newly built international cricket stadium.
The Buddh International Circuit hosted India’s inaugural F1 Grand Prix race on 30 October 2011. The 5.14 km long circuit was designed by German architect and racetrack designer Herman Tilke to compete with other world-class race circuits.
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