Abstract: Physical fitness is the foundation of athletic performance and plays a crucial role in determining success in competitive sports. Aerobic capacity and muscular endurance are considered essential components of fitness for field-based games such as hockey, which demand continuous movement, speed variation, and sustained physical effort. The present study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of aerobic capacity and muscular endurance between hockey players and non-players belonging to the tribal communities of Rajasthan. Forty male college students between the ages of 18–24 were selected and divided into two equal groups: 20 hockey players with a minimum of three years of structured sports training and inter-collegiate experience, and 20 non-players with no participation in organized sports or physical conditioning programs. The Cooper 12-Minute Run Test was used to evaluate aerobic capacity, and muscular endurance was assessed using standardized one-minute Sit-Up and Push-Up tests. The findings revealed that hockey players demonstrated significantly higher performance levels in both aerobic and muscular endurance tests compared to non-players. The results highlight the positive influence of systematic sports training on physiological development and suggest the need to encourage sports participation among tribal youth for holistic physical development.

Keywords: Aerobic capacity, Muscular endurance, Hockey players, Cooper test, Physical fitness, Tribal communities, Comparative study, Endurance performance.