During the Gaekwad reign, Baroda emerged as a major sports hub, akin to the Olympics. Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III was renowned for championing Indian and local sports. Sportsmen from across India and abroad flocked to Baroda to participate in over 150 sports, including athletics, kabaddi, long jump, hockey, wrestling, malkhambh, bodybuilding, and kho-kho. This sporting extravaganza was dubbed the ‘Royal…
Sport
Do you know what Vijay Hazare, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Hardik Pandya, and Kunal Pandya have in common? The answer is Baroda. Over the years Baroda has given the country many of its great cricketers. Be it Vijay Hazare or the Pathan Brothers or the most recent Pandya Brothers, they all have one thing in common, they all come from…
Located across the main gate of Lukshmi Vilas Palace, is the BDHA (Baroda District Hockey Association). Just like every other sports association of Baroda, this also started with patronage from the royal family. The ground and the building housing the association was donated by the Gaekwads. BDHA is non-commercial association, affiliated to Gujarat State Hockey Association. It trains and promotes…
Today, the site of what was once Aggad, the grand battle arena, is now occupied by the Gaurav Housing Society behind the Bhaddar/Bhadra Kacheri. Historians believe that this battle arena has been a significant part of the Bhadra locality for nearly 700 years. Dating back to the 15th century, during the rule of Sultan Muhammad Begda, who was a patron…
Established in 1930, The Gaekwad Baroda Golf Club is Gujarat’s only private golf course, also known as GBGC, set in and around the Lukshmi Vilas Palace compound. The golf course was originally created by Maharaja Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad, grandson of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, primarily for his European guests. In the 1990s, Samarjitsinh Gaekwad renovated the course and opened it to…