Delhi is the capital of the country of India and is the political and the national headquarters of the country. Delhi is also known for being an IT hub of the country and for its many tourist destinations. Delhi is located in the northern part of the country and is a very picturesque part of the country. This city is a metropolis and is a part of the National Capital Region also known as NCR which includes other Indian IT hubs such as Noida and Gurgaon. Delhi is the fastest growing city in India and is one of the fastest growing ones in the world.
Over the years, Delhi has hosted a number of international sporting events which includes the first and the ninth Asian Games, the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2010 Hockey World Cup and the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Delhi was one of the proposed destinations for the 2014 Asian Games but lost bids. The city was also a prospective destination for the 2020 Summer Olympics but also lost bids.The sports minister, Manohar Singh Gill, later said that funding infrastructure would come before a 2020 bid.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games continued from 3 to 14 October of 2010 and was one of the largest sports events ever held in the country. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was where the opening ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games took place. This was the main stadium of the entire event which was held at 7 pm in Indian Standard Time on the 3rd of October in the year 2010.
The ceremony featured more than 8,000 performers and went on for as long as two and a half hours. It is believed 350 crores were spent in order to produce the grand ceremony. The events took place at 12 venues. In addition, 20 training venues were also used in the event, which included seven venues in the Delhi University. The popular rugby stadium in the University North Campus hosted rugby games for the Commonwealth Games. After the Commonwealth Games, the Sports and Youth Affairs minister Manohar Singh Gill was replaced by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Ajay Maken on the 19th of January in 2011.
The most popular sports of the city are cricket and football. There are a number of related grounds, also known as ‘maidans’, located throughout the Indian capital city. The Feroz Shah Kotla Ground is one of the oldest cricket grounds in the country and is a venue for international cricket matches as well.
Ambedkar Stadium was a venue for the Indian football team’s World Cup qualifier game against the UAE in July of the year 2012. This is one of the largest football stadiums in the country and holds 20,000 people.
