The sport that captivated the campus from the 1970s through the 1990s was football. IIMA had a dedicated men’s football team consisting of staff and a few students who participated in leading local tournaments such as the 1st Division League Trophy of the Ahmedabad District Football Association and Paulin Cup. Mahindra & Mahindra would host an open football tournament on our campus grounds (in an area now part of the New Campus). In fact, there was a time when some members of our staff were recruited because of their footballing prowess!
Outside football, there were the usual suspects: badminton, cricket, carrom, table tennis, tennis, and volleyball. Basketball was popular among men and women. Field hockey was rare. Chess was quite popular in the 1970s and 80s. For a while, skating was in the air, and for decades, Frisbee has haunted the lawns of the Louis Kahn Plaza. Cycling has slowly started gaining traction.
(Right) Siddhartha Chib, PGP 1980-82, playing simultaneously against a number of players at a simultaneous chess event on campus (1981)
Inter-IIM sports tournaments began in the 1970s. From 2006-07, SANGHARSH, a student competition among the IIMs at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, and Lucknow, has been a keenly awaited annual event. SHAURYA is an Ahmedabad inter-collegiate competition. YALGAAR, and AAKROSH are intra-IIMA events. Students have had a chance to showcase their talent in table tennis, tennis, badminton, cricket, football, volleyball, basketball, chess, frisbee, and several other events in these tournaments.
IIMA Board of Governors, March 23, 2012.
The Professor M N Vora Indoor Sports Complex on the Main Campus, which has a built-up area of 12500 square feet, was inaugurated by Dr. Vijaypat Singhania, Chairperson, IIMA Board of Governors, on March 23, 2012. It was built with a substantial donation from the PGP 1989 batch. It is named after Prof. M. N. Vora, who taught Marketing to generations of alumni, and who passed away in 2007. The complex has badminton courts, table tennis facilities, a billiards room, an air-conditioned squash court, and other facilities. The Main Campus also has a Yoga Centre.
A new sports complex on the New Campus was inaugurated on September 8, 2022. It has badminton and squash courts, and a swimming pool. A state-of-the-art gym, steam and sauna rooms, table tennis facilities, a Yoga room, a football ground, and a jogging track will be added soon. With all these facilities, it is not surprising that sporting activity is an important aspect of campus life for the IIMA community.
