Deccan Gymkhana
The sports club that gave the Deccan Gymkhana area its name, inspired by Lokmanya Tilak, with Pune's first swimming pool, Tilak Tank.
Quick facts
- Started:
- 1906
- Address:
- Club House Building, Survey No. 759/1, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004
- Swimming pool:
- Tilak Tank, off Prabhat Road, next to Sahyadri Hospital
- Phone:
- 020 2567 5994, 93700 77144
- Email:
- deccangymkhana@gmail.com
- Website:
- deccangymkhana.co.in
- Entry:
- Members and their guests
History
Deccan Gymkhana traces its story to 1906. The club credits Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak with the idea behind it: a sports ground run by and for Indians. Cricket came first. Athletics, wrestling and scout training were added in the years around 1916 and 1917.
The club played a part in India's first Olympic team. Shri Bhagwat worked to get Indian athletes to the Games, and talks between Sir George Lloyd and Sir Dorabji Tata helped make it happen. When India took part in the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, Deccan Gymkhana helped choose the wrestlers and athletes.
In 1921 an underground spring on the grounds was turned into Pune's first swimming pool, today known as Tilak Tank. Billiards and bridge came in the late 1920s, and in 1931 Vanita Vishram, a club for women only, was started.
The whole area was planned by town planning officer Mr. Moyerson with Shri T.V. Talim, and the planning led to the first co-operative housing society in the old Bombay Province. The neighbourhood still carries the club's name: Deccan Gymkhana.
Sports and facilities
- More than 15 sports on one campus: cricket, lawn tennis, basketball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, pickleball, athletics and a jogging track.
- Swimming at Tilak Tank, and a gymnasium with yoga.
- Billiards and cards.
- A restaurant and bar, a cafeteria, 11 guest rooms, a conference hall, a banquet hall, the Talim Pavilion Hall and a terrace party hall.
Every year the club honours its best players at a felicitation function, and it runs tournaments such as its volleyball tournament and net league.
Visiting
It is a members' club. Visitors usually come as a member's guest, and members of affiliated clubs may use some facilities. Please check with the club before you go.
More in Clubs of Pune
- Royal Connaught Boat Club Pune's rowing club on the Mula-Mutha river, started in 1868 as the Poona Boat Club and named after the Duke of Connaught.
- The Poona Club One of the oldest and best-known clubs in India, on Bund Garden Road, with an 18-hole golf course at Yerwada and more than 6,000 members.
- PYC Hindu Gymkhana Started in 1900 by young cricketers as the Poona Young Cricketers' Hindu Gymkhana, with a 1906 pavilion on Bhandarkar Road.
Questions and answers
When was Deccan Gymkhana started?
The club dates its history to 1906. It credits Lokmanya Tilak with the idea behind it.
What is Tilak Tank?
Tilak Tank is Deccan Gymkhana's swimming pool, off Prabhat Road. The club says it was Pune's first swimming pool, made in 1921 from an underground spring.
Can anyone visit Deccan Gymkhana?
It is a members' club. Visitors usually come as a member's guest, and members of affiliated clubs may use some facilities. Please check with the club before you go.
Sources: Facts from the club's own website (deccangymkhana.co.in), checked 10 October 2026.