There will be a few year-end events in the Indian sports calendar in December.

In November, Indian athletes showed impressive performances in sports such as hockey, badminton and cricket. After a disappointing season at the Paris Olympics, the Indian women’s hockey team made a remarkable comeback at the Asian Champions Trophy to win their third title.

In badminton, the duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty returned to competition after their quarter-final exit at the Paris Olympics by reaching the semi-finals of the 2024 China Masters.

Although there are not many sporting events in the Indian sports calendar in December and numerous sports have already completed their seasons, cricket, badminton, chess, football, hockey, table tennis and others are some prominent sports to watch out for before 2025 ensures more sporting action . Let’s take a look at the Indian sports calendar for the month of December.

Important events follow in the Indian sports calendar in December

athletics

Although the athletics competitions are over in 2024, many elite Indian marathon runners will take part in the Pune Marathon, scheduled for December 1. Additionally, the Bengaluru International Midnight Marathon is another major long-distance running event to watch out for in December.

• December 7-11: National Junior Athletics Championships, Bhubaneswar
• December 14: Bengaluru International Midnight Marathon

badminton

December will see many badminton tournaments taking place in India, with the Syed Modi International concluding on the 1st of the month after starting on November 26th. Apart from the tournament in Lucknow, the Guwahati and Odisha Masters are two other major events scheduled to take place in December.

All eyes will also be on Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand as they are the only Indian shuttlers to have qualified for the BWF World Tour Finals 2024. Other top athletes who will be in action in December include PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Priyanshu Rajawat and others.

• December 3rd to 8th: Guwahati Masters
• 10th–15th December: Odisha Masters
• December 11th to 15th: HSBC BWF Tour Finals

Boxing

In December, prominent Indian boxers will compete at the Men’s Elite National Boxing Championships, which will be held from the 23rd to 26th of this month.

• December 23-26: Men’s Elite National Boxing Championship

basketball

Young Indian talent will take part in national basketball competitions, with youth and sub-junior events taking place in December. Below you will find the schedule and dates for the mentioned events:

• November 29th to December 5th: 39th National Youth Basketball Championship (U16) (5×5)
• 16–22 December: 49th National Sub-Junior (U13) Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls (5×5)

Chess

The World Chess Championship 2024 is one of the biggest chess events that takes place in December. It began on November 25 when challenger Gukesh D of India took on reigning world champion Ding Liren in a best-of-14 match format.

cricket

After a disappointing home defeat against New Zealand, the Indian men’s cricket team started their tour of Australia with a resounding win in the first Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Test series.

However, it will be a difficult task for India to defeat the hosts as the remaining four Tests are scheduled for December. Meanwhile, the women’s team will tour Australia for a three-match ODI series before the West Indies play a series of three T20Is and ODIs against the West Indies while the Caribbean nation tours India.

Border Gavaskar Trophy

• December 6-10: Second Test, Adelaide
• 14th–18th December: Third Test, Brisbane
• 26–30 December: Fourth Test, Melbourne

India’s tour of Australia (women)

• December 5: First ODI (Brisbane)
• December 8: Second ODI (Brisbane)
• December 11: Third ODI (Perth)

West Indies tour of India (women)

• December 15: First T20I (Navi Mumbai)
• December 17: Second T20I (Navi Mumbai)
• December 19: Third T20I (Navi Mumbai)
• December 22: First ODI (Vadodara)
• December 24: Second ODI (Vadodara)
• December 27: Third ODI (Vadodara)

fencing

Indian saber fencers will be in action at the Grand Prix Nuoma in Orleans for men and women on December 5 and 6.

• 5th–6th December: Korea World Cup
• December 5th to 7th: Orleans Grand Prix
• 6th–7th December: World Cup in Japan

football

The final round of the prestigious Santosh Trophy is scheduled for December but the schedule is yet to be announced. Meanwhile, the quarterfinals will take place on December 17th and 18th, with the semifinals scheduled for December 20th. The finale is scheduled for December 22 in Hyderabad.

• September 13 to March 12: Indian Super League (ongoing)
• December 1-15: National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy finals

golf

Aditi Ashok, Pranavi Urs, Diksha Dagar and Tvesha Malik are some prominent names participating in the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana, which concludes on December 1st.

• November 28th – December 1st: Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España (ongoing)

Handball

The 20th edition of the Asian Women’s Handball Championship will take place in India from December 3rd to 10th. This is the first time that WAHCH is being held in South Asia.

Ice hockey

The Indian junior men’s and women’s field hockey teams are aiming to emerge as Asian champions. Both competitions are scheduled for December. While the men’s tournament has already started, the women’s tournament is scheduled to take place in Muscat, Oman from December 7th to 15th. The Hockey India League now also takes place in December.

• November 26 to December 4: Men’s Junior Asian Cup (ongoing)
• December 7th to 15th: Women’s Junior Asian Cup in Muscat
• December 28 – February 1, 2025: Hockey India League

Kabaddi

The 11th edition of Pro Kabaddi League will be held from October 18. The league phase of PKL 11 lasts until December 24th, after which the playoffs will take place.

Squeeze

The 2024 edition of the WSF World Squash Team Championships will take place in Hong Kong, China from December 9th to 15th. The games will be played at the Hong Kong Football Club.

• December 9th to 15th: World Team Championships, Vietnam

Table tennis

In the absence of experienced campaigners like Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula and Harmeet Desai, India will field an eight-man squad with players like Manush Shah, Manav Thakkar and Yashaswini Ghorpade at the ITTF Mixed Team 2024 World Cup.

• December 1st to 8th: ITTF Mixed Team World Cup

Weightlifting

Mirabai Chanu will skip the World Weightlifting Championships, taking place in Manama, Bahrain from December 6-15. Bindyarani Devi is expected to lead India’s line-up in Mirabai’s absence.

• December 4-14: World Weightlifting Championships, Bahrain

Wrestling

The National Wrestling Championship will be held in Bengaluru from December 6th to 8th. Almost all states have announced their quota.

• December 6-8: National Wrestling Championships, Bengaluru

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