Nizam's Patronage of Sports - Tennis, Cricket, Polo, Horse-riding & Horse Racing

By Seven Oaks -

The Nizams were among the most important royal patrons of sport in princely India. While they are often remembered for architecture, education, railways, and public works, they also helped create a sporting culture that produced national-level athletes in cricket, football, hockey, polo, horse racing, and tennis. (Wikipedia)

Sports under the Nizams

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Nizams and the Hyderabad nobility (especially the Paigahs, Salar Jungs, and Moin-ud-Dowlah family) funded clubs, grounds, tournaments, and sporting institutions. Sport was seen as both a gentlemanly pursuit and a mark of a modern state. (Wikipedia)

Some examples:

  • Horse racing was a particular passion of the 6th Nizam, Mahbub Ali Khan, who helped establish the foundations of organized racing in Hyderabad. (Wikipedia)

  • Polo was widely played by the aristocracy and cavalry officers.

  • Cricket received extensive patronage from nobles such as Nawab Moin-ud-Dowla and Maharaja Kishen Pershad. (Wikipedia)

  • Schools and colleges such as Nizam College actively promoted competitive sport. (Wikipedia)

Cricket: probably the Nizams' greatest sporting legacy

Hyderabad's cricket culture was largely built through aristocratic patronage.

The famous Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup began in 1930–31 and attracted some of the finest cricketers in India and England. Players such as C. K. Nayudu and even English stars appeared in Hyderabad because of this patronage. The tournament helped bring first-class cricket to Hyderabad and laid the foundations for Hyderabad's later cricketing success. (Wikipedia)

Tennis under the Nizams

Tennis arrived in Hyderabad through British cantonments and elite clubs during the late 19th century.

The Nizams and Hyderabad nobility supported tennis by:

  • Building and maintaining tennis courts in elite clubs.

  • Funding sports facilities attached to colleges and institutions.

  • Encouraging participation among Hyderabad's educated classes.

  • Supporting clubs where local talent could compete with British and Indian players. (The Siasat Daily – Archive)

One important institution was the historic Nizam Club, which became a major centre for tennis and later helped nurture players such as Sania Mirza. (The New Yorker)

Ghaus Mohammad Khan: Hyderabad's Wimbledon pioneer

The clearest example of Nizam-era tennis success is Ghaus Mohammad Khan.

  • Born and trained in Hyderabad.

  • Benefited from the tennis infrastructure available in Hyderabad State.

  • Reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 1939, still one of the greatest achievements by an Indian tennis player before Independence.

His success was not accidental—it emerged from a sporting culture that Hyderabad's rulers and nobility had spent decades building.

A remarkable sporting culture

One figure who illustrates the Nizam-era sporting environment is Syed Mohammad Hadi.

Raised in aristocratic circles close to the Nizam's court, Hadi represented India or Hyderabad in multiple sports including cricket, football, hockey, and tennis, while also excelling in polo and horse riding. Such multi-sport athletes were a product of the broad sporting culture fostered by Hyderabad's elite. (Wikipedia)

In summary

The Nizams did not personally create a "Hyderabad Tennis Association" or sponsor Wimbledon players directly. Their contribution was more fundamental:

  • They financed clubs and grounds.

  • Their nobles sponsored tournaments.

  • Their colleges encouraged sport.

  • Their aristocratic culture treated sport as an important social activity.

The result was that Hyderabad became one of the few princely states to produce internationally recognized athletes before Independence, including Wimbledon quarterfinalist Ghaus Mohammad Khan, and later generations of cricketers, footballers, and eventually tennis stars such as Sania Mirza. (Wikipedia)

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