India’s sports calendar promises yet another action-packed year for India in 2023. From the MotoGP to the Odisha FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup, here are some non-cricket sporting events that India is set to host in 2023.
Hockey World Cup
The mega event will be organised in Odisha for the second consecutive time. The tournament will be played in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29, 2023. The 15th edition of the World Cup will be the fourth held in India. While Bhubaneswar will host the knockouts, Rourkela’s new stadium – the largest in India, with a capacity of 20,000 – will see the Indian men’s hockey team play its first two group matches on January 13 and 15, against Spain and England respectively.
Racing: Hyderabad ePrix, MotoGP
In a good news to sports fans across the country, racecars are returning, and motorcycle racing will make its debut in India. The Formula E – the world’s premier electric-car racing series will be held in Hyderabad in February. It will be India’s first major motorsport event in 10 years.
Women’s Boxing World Championships
After 2006 and 2018, the Women’s World Boxing Championships will be held in India for the third time. The biennial event will be held in Delhi, in March. Since its inception in 2001, India has been the fourth-most-successful country at this event with a total tally of 39 medals. Mary Kom (6) has won the highest number of medals in the competition.
Asian Wrestling Championships
New Delhi will host the annual event from March 28 - April 2. India will be hosting the grand event for the ninth time in 36 years. At the last edition, India had won a total of 17 medals and finished fifth. When Delhi last hosted the event in February 2020, India finished third behind Japan and Iran, with a total of 20 medals.
India Open Badminton
India Open badminton tournament will be played in New Delhi from January 17 to 22. Reigning Olympic and World Champions like China’s Chen Yufei, Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi and Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen will take part in the event. After the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 editions amid the pandemic, the Badminton Association of India conducted the event behind closed doors in 2022, but organisers have confirmed that spectators will be allowed this time. Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu is expected to take part in the event. Men’s singles defending champion Lakshya Sen and former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth will lead India’s charge.
WTT Star Contender
Goa will host India’s first-ever World Table Tennis (WTT) series event from February 27 to March 5. Word’s best table tennis players will lock horns in various categories of the tournament.