Home > Terms > English, UK (UE) > Gymkhana

Any of various meets at which contests are held to test the skill of the competitors, as in equestrianship, gymnastics, or sports car racing. The word gymkhana is of Anglo-Indian origin and is derived from the Hindi-Urdu word for 'racket court'. At first it was used as a general term in India to describe a place where sporting events took place, and then it came to mean any arena where specifically skill-based contests are held.

Nowadays in India it more commonly refers to a gymnasium, whereas across the South and East Asian subcontinent it can refer in general to any social and sporting club.