India’s sports calendar in 2023: Hockey World Cup, Asian Games among big events

The 2023 sports calendar promises yet another action-packed year for India, where the country’s athletes will look to carry forward the momentum which began in 2021 with a record medals haul at the Tokyo Olympics.

With the various qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympics in full swing, 2023 will be a big year for Indian athletes wanting to secure a ticket to the Summer Games.

Besides the annual Asian and world championships for various sports and the tennis Grand Slams, some big quadrennial events are scheduled in the 2023 sports calendar. In January, the upcoming FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 will be held in Odisha, India, while the Asian Games, postponed from last year due to COVID-19, will be held in Hangzhou, China, in September.

Though there will be no Indian participation in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in New Zealand and Australia, the football World Cup will be a spectacle Indian fans can look forward to in July-August.

The Indian men’s football team, though, has qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 2023, which was scheduled to be held from June 16 to July 16 in China. However, with a last-minute change of venue to Qatar, the continental showpiece may be shifted to late 2023 or early 2024 to avoid the summer temperatures in the Gulf region.

India’s historic Thomas Cup victory in 2022 will also put badminton in focus in 2023, with fans looking up to stars like PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth to bring home more glory from top competitions around the world.

Indian track and field stars also performed well in 2022 and the likes of Neeraj Chopra, Avinash Sable and Eldhose Paul will be eyeing yet another great year in 2023. The World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August will headline their events.

Here’s a look at the big sporting events India will be looking forward to in 2023.

India sports calendar 2023 - event schedule and start dates