Bombay Gymkhana
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Bombay Gymkhana is one of the premiere sports gymkhanas in the city of Mumbai, India. It is located in the South Mumbai area and was originally built as a British-only club.
The gymkhana grounds lie in the southern end of the Azad Maidan. The ground itself is on leased property. It has a triangular area, with the southern end facing the VSNL building. MG Road and H Somal Marg are the two roads on either end that begin from the southern end. It is boxed in by a shortcut lane which connects Churchgate to Victoria Terminus.
A long building which serves as the lobby, table tennis area, badminton court, restaurant and lounge connects the two roads. The region between the building and the lane is a large ground.
Cricket is played here in the winter months, and rugby and football (soccer) in the monsoon months. This used to be major centre for the erstwhile Bombay Pentangular cricket matches. The ground had the distinction of hosting India's first Test cricket match on 1933-12-15, captained by CK Nayudu. Many of the matches of the long-running Bombay Quadrangular tournament were also held there. It hasn't hosted any international cricket matches since the Brabourne Stadium took its place in 1948. The last international event of some sort was in 1996 when the Australian cricket team used the grounds to practice prior to their clash with India in the 1996 cricket World Cup.
The ground also hosts a national rugby competition, and has recently hosted matches against Sri Lanka and a few other South Asian teams. It has also hosted national and international squash tournaments.
It also has swimming facilities at the southern end.
Until a few years ago, only men could gain membership to the club. Women were able to join from the early 2000s.
The Bombay Gymkhana is one of the most exclusive clubs in the city: the waiting period for membership extends into years, and the fees are in the millions of rupees.
