by Anuj Prabhu

Hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games has had a major impact on the minds of many young budding Indian talents who want to pursue a career in it. Young children living in Delhi saw different international world-class athletes competing to end up on the podium and increase the medal tallies of their countries. Unlike cities like Mumbai and Kolkata where cricket and football respectively are the major college-level sports, Delhi sports colleges have seen rivalries in many different sports. This healthy rivalries only tend to raise the bar among different athletes competing in different sports, thereby developing the idea of sports as a career in India. It’s perhaps the Capital's best-known sporting rivalry between educational institutions: here’s our pick of the rest.  

Also Read: Ankita Das determined to prove doubters wrong

St. Stephen’s College and Sri Ram College

  Table tennis is a major sport in St. Stephens and SRCC (Sri Ram College of Commerce) as both the teams believe they always have a strong chance to bag gold in the inter-college championships. The rivalry is to such an extent that crowds flock in large numbers when these two colleges go head to head in table tennis. The pressure and support both are immense for both sides. SRCC lost narrowly to St Stephens in last year’s championship. But they will be looking to get things sorted and turn the tables on their rivals, thus enriching the buzz of this rivalry.

Sri Ram College and Zakir Hussain College

      Zakir Hussain College is envied by many colleges in Delhi as they consistently end up at the top of the table in the inter-college football league. But the team that has come closest to challenge them has been SRCC. In the latest edition, they managed to beat them in the second leg of their tie by a solitary goal, after losing the first leg on penalties, thereby going on and winning the championship. Similar rivalries are seen among other football teams too. One such rivalry is between St. Stephens college and Hindu College, where students from St Stephens college boast of having an unbeaten record against Hindu College. Generally it becomes difficult for the referee to give right decisions because of the sheer aggressive nature of these competitions.

Hansraj College and Hindu College

    Basketball may not be a major sport as of now in India. But when it comes to games between Hansraj College and Hindu College, it is a completely different ball game. Mainly the rivalry of Hansraj College is with Kirori Mal College as both of them often seem to be the favourites for the basketball gold. But their captain has admitted that it is the rivalry with Hindu college that has grown more in stature as years have progressed. Hansraj College have never lost a single match of basketball against Hindu college, something that the later might be desperately wanting to overturn. This is something that the captain of Hindu college team wants to focus on. This gigantic record makes their rivalry with St. Stephens College look pretty small.  

Also Read: Striving for more; ‘Hungry’ BITS Pilani Basketball Women’s Team look to improve on fourth-place finish

Hindu College and Venkateswara College

      Having mentioned Hindu College and St Stephens College multiple times in this article, one can imagine the amount of talent these colleges boast in different sports. As far as cricket is concerned, Swami Shraddhanand College has emerged as runaway winners in the recent past. Venkateswara College (also known as Venky’s) boast about their recent victory against Hindu College in the latest edition of this tournament. Both the teams consist of players that have represented Delhi at state level, making the match even more competitive. The captain of Hindu College deems this rivalry as fierce as India-Pakistan rivalry. This is because the game when played is full of heated arguments and on-field sledging. This adds up spice to the contest , thereby making the taste of victory sweeter for either of the teams.

---