IIT Madras added yet ­another trophy to its ­ever-growing list of General Championship trophies during the 58th Inter-IIT Sports Meet, 2025. The event was co-hosted by three IITs: IIT Madras, IIT Tirupati, and IIT Hyderabad. Currently, IIT Madras holds the most wins among all IITs, with 25 wins since the inception of the prestigious tournament. The concept for this sports tournament was conceived by a student from IIT Bombay. The idea evolved into a fullfledged competition, now known as the Inter-IIT Sports Meet.

The First Inter-IIT Sports Meet was held at IIT Bombay in 1961. IIT Kharagpur, the first IIT to be established, emerged as the inaugural championship winner. According to the Annual Report of IIT Madras, 1961, IIT Madras distinguished itself in several events, including hammer throw, long and triple jump, table tennis, as well as the 100 metres and 200 metres sprints. They also did well in the relay events. IIT Madras’s cultural activities were judged the best that year.

IIT Kharagpur dominated the first three years in the Inter-IIT Sports Meet. They won the meets in 1961, 1963, and 1964. The 1962 Meet was possibly cancelled due to the Sino-Indo War. The 1963 meet was held at IIT Kharagpur, and the 1964 meet was held at IIT Madras.

At the 1964 Inter-IIT Sports Meet, IIT Kharagpur successfully defended its title with a hat trick of victories. The event has been recorded in the first issue of the Alumni Association magazine Pradeep in an article by B. S. Sudhir Chandra, a student of IIT Madras.

The 1964 Meet marked the inauguration of the stadium by the chief guest, Mansoor Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi. Khan was the captain of the Indian Cricket Team at the time. The first Registrar of IIT Madras, R. Natarajan, states in an interview that he invited the Nawab to IIT Madras as the chief guest. It appears that Khan stayed three days in the Guest House at IIT Madras. Upon Khan’s request, Natarajan and the captain even went to watch a Hollywood film in the city during the short period of time during which Khan was at IIT Madras. Natarajan adds that when he asked Khan to stay on campus for a few more days, the latter replied on a lighter note, saying that the Institute Guest House butler Gopal was capable of ruining Khan’s cricket career by pampering him with his delicious food.

One of the lesser-known facts about the Third Inter-IIT Sports Meet was that an IIT radio station was set up in the stadium. The Registrar, R. Natarajan, interviewed Mansoor Ali Khan. There was also a running commentary on the events on a daily basis. B.S. Sudhir Chandra includes this tidbit of information in his article in Pradeep.

The following year, the 1965 Inter-IIT Sports Meet was not held due to the Indo-Pakistan War.

IIT Madras was unable to clinch a championship for almost a decade. It was during the Eighth Inter-IIT Sports Meet, in 1970, that IIT Madras won its first championship. The meet was held at IIT Madras. A detailed report of the event was published in Campastimes (February 1971).

The remaining three IITs (Bombay, Kharagpur, and Delhi) shared 24 points each. This victory marked the beginning of a golden decade for IIT Madras. They went on to win all the championships in that decade, establishing themselves as a top contender in the Inter-IIT Sports Meets for years to come.

In the same Campastimes issue (February 1971), an article titled ‘A Letter from KGP’ provides an account of IIT Kharagpur student Nandini Nityananda’s experience at the Inter-IIT Meet. She emphasised how the meet was dominated by IIT Kharagpur over the last few years and even went on to suggest that IIT Madras would not be champions for long, “Well done and cuddle those trophies as much as you want. We will be back for them next year.” Her statement, bold and confident as it was, did not bear fruit for another 16 years. IIT Madras went on to win all the meets in the decade, and it was not until 1986 that IIT Kharagpur finally won another championship.

The 1971 Inter-IIT Sports Meet was cancelled due to the Indo-Pakistan war. The 10 IIT Madras victories were therefore won over 11 years.

Interestingly, an issue of Spectator dated November 9, 1981 notes that there were talks of splitting the Inter-IIT into simultaneous meets where each IIT would host some games by rotation. This idea was apparently mooted because contingents with common players would be affected. The article claims that the idea for the split came out of the desire to put an end to IIT Madras’ winning streak.

IIT Madras’ run in the 1970s has not been matched by any other IIT thus far. The 17 January 1982 edition of Spectator documents the end of the historic decennial run. The Spectator issue was titled ‘Madras Dethroned’, a dramatic ­title to the Inter-IIT Sports Meet held in 1981 at Kharagpur. Can IIT Madras pull yet another flawless decade of victories in sports? Only time will tell.

Excerpts from Glass Panels – Heritage Centre, IIT Madras, January 2026.