Both Anna University and Madras University are two of the most prestigious universities in Tamil Nadu. More than 1000 colleges are affiliated to the universities.

Boasting a strong academic record in Tamil Nadu, Anna University also focuses on the development of different sports like cricket, football, basketball, table tennis, etc. and this is managed through the zonal tournaments held between different colleges. This acts as a good nurturing environment for young talented sports athletes as well as helps in the overall development of the students. Many colleges have traditionally done well in such competitions and thus enhanced their reputation in certain sports, thereby springing rivalry with other colleges having a strong sporting base. Here are few such colleges.    

Read: The Best Under-the-Radar Mumbai College Cricket Rivalries

Jeppiaar Engineering College

In recent years, Jeppiaar college has turned out to be a powerhouse in intercollegiate sports competitions in sports like football. Their men’s team were the Anna University zonal champions for four years in a row till 2017-2018. In last year’s edition, they were beaten by Nehru Institute of Engineering and Technology in the final, thereby ending their incredible winning run.

Jeppiaar college has also done well as far as the women’s events are concerned. Their women’s kabaddi team and volleyball team are the reigning champions of Anna University zonal sports tournaments. Their women’s volleyball team went one step further and won the 2017 PSN national level volleyball tournament. Thus doing well in both men’s and women’s events, Jeppiaar is a hot prospect for being the best sports-based college in Chennai in future!

Nehru Institute of Engineering and Technology (NIET)

Jeppiaar College’s newest rivals, NIET are the reigning champions of the Anna University inter zonal football tournament. Against all the odds, they beat the four- time champions Jeppiaar in the final to win the coveted title and announce themselves on the zonal stage. This has ushered in a new era of rivalry between the two, with every future match being as exciting and enthralling with active participation from local crowds. NIET Football men’s team had also won the championship in the Kumaraguru College of Tech “14th KICS 17” Trophy Inter Collegiate Engineering Football Tournament 2017 organised by KCT, Coimbatore from 18th August 2017. They are thus turning out to be a growing force in the field of intercollegiate football.

The New College

The Handball team of the New College is doing really well, having bagged a third-place finish in Madras University’s intercollegiate sports handball tournament. But the New College is more known for its age-old football rivalry with Loyola College. The New College was once known for its fierce rivalry with Loyola college in the sport of football. The matches between these teams were so fierce and hostile that it sometimes led to riots too. But with time, the performance of New College has declined in the field of football. Their decline has coincided with the rise of football teams of Jeppiaar, NIET, SRM Chennai,etc.

Recently, they have done well in Madras University intercollegiate football tournament by bagging the runners-up place. They can take this as a positive step towards reviving their lost reputation as a footballing heavyweight. With due time and proper financial and infrastructural backing, it is expected that the sleeping giants of intercollegiate football will rise to the occasion.

SRM College

SRM is one of the most renowned engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu. Its emergence as a football force has been noteworthy as they are regularly competing with football powerhouses like Jeppiaar and Loyola college. They came very close to silverware in 2016, securing a runners-up position in the Tamil Nadu state intercollegiate football competition. With the right coaching and better experience, SRM has the potential to regularly challenge for the state level title in the game of football.

SRM has a reputation of having one of the strongest volleyball teams in Chennai. It has won tournaments like state level invitation volleyball men’s tournament-Sapthagiri 40th rolling trophy, YMCA trophy, Sundar Memorial Volleyball Club’s state level volleyball tournament, etc. They are also the champions of intercollege table tennis tournament, All India intercollegiate badminton tournament held by SSN college,etc. Boasting such great records in several competitions, SRM is surely one of the places to be if an engineering aspirant wants to play sports and excel in it.

Loyola College

The reigning overall champion of the 2017-2018 Madras University Zone 19 intercollegiate sports competition, Loyola is arguably the most successful sports college in Chennai at the moment. Already well known for its vintage football rivalry with the New College, Loyola has also managed to develop other sports and lay a strong

foundation for the students wanting to represent their college in sports competitions.

At the zone 19 level, they are the runaway winners overall ending up as champions in the sport of football, volleyball, athletics, kabaddi, handball,etc With these amazing achievements and the overall development of different sports due to the hard work put in by people in charge, Loyola is truly on its way to becoming a sporting powerhouse of not only Chennai but Tamil Nadu too.  

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