Exclusive | Polo in India: A royal heritage meets modern ambitions

Polo, India’s royal sport, is experiencing a resurgence with growing players, sponsors, and global partnerships. On the historic Sir Pratap Singh Polo Cup, Firstpost spoke to top players and officials in regards to the game’s evolution, challenges, and future in India

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Players from the Jaipur Delta polo team and the Arion Achievers polo team, and their horses clash at some point of the final of the Sir Pratap Singh Polo Cup on the Jaipur Polo Ground in New Delhi, November 17, 2024. Anmol Singla/Firstpost

Polo, often dubbed the “Sport of Kings,” holds a special place in India’s cultural and sporting history. With its origins rooted in ancient India, the game has traversed centuries, evolving from a pastime of royals to a world sport.

But where does polo stand in up to date India? Amidst rising costs, global competition, and shifting perceptions, the game faces challenges as well as offers opportunities.

The final word of the 12-goal Sir Pratap Singh Polo Cup, held on the Jaipur Polo Ground in New Delhi on November 17, 2024, offered a glimpse into the state of Indian polo at present time. Against the backdrop of this 103-year-old tournament, Firstpost spoke to players and umpires who reflected on the game’s growth, accessibility, and future in India.

The origins of polo in India

The history of polo in India is as illustrious as the game itself. It really is a ways believed to have originated in the northeastern state of Manipur, where it became often often is famous as sagol kangjei. Played on Manipuri ponies, this version of polo had fewer rules but encapsulated the same spirit of competition and camaraderie.

“It really is a ways from here [India] polo became taken to all parts of the arena including England and Argentina,” Akshai Malik, a player for the Delta Polo team, told Firstpost.

Within the 19th century, British officers stationed in India were captivated by the game. They formalised its rules and introduced it to their native land, at last spreading it worldwide. The Calcutta Polo Club, founded in 1862, is the oldest surviving polo club in the arena, a testament to India’s pivotal role in the game’s history.

“We have now had an exceedingly glorious history of polo where the pinnacle players in the arena were from India, nevertheless it be many decades back,” added Malik.

Modern polo in India: Growth amid challenges

“Polo became started by India; we gave birth to it,” Hurr Ali, a prominent Indian polo player with a handicap of +2, told Firstpost. “This day, polo is developing again. So many horses are coming in, and it truly is turning into competitive on a every day basis. An exceptional deal of early life are entering the game, so we’re having a look at to take into accounta good future for polo.”

Ali’s optimism is echoed by Sawai Padmanabh Singh, a +Three handicap player and scion of Jaipur’s royal family. “The extent of polo that I’ve witnessed in the last 10 years has exponentially grown," he told Firstpost. “There are more horses, more players, more patrons, and more sponsors than ever before. While the expansion is steady, it’s unmistakable.”

Indeed, up to date polo in India has seen a resurgence, with more tournaments, better infrastructure, and an influx of international players. Argentina, a worldwide powerhouse in polo, has played an enormous role on this revival.

Talking to Firstpost, Santiago Cruz Marambio, an Argentine player with a +6 handicap, highlighted this collaboration. “India is investing in horses from Argentina, which is where the correct horses in the arena are bred,” he explained. “The partnership between the 2 countries is critical. The quality of polo in India is growing by reason of better horses and better organisation.”

Firstpost also learnt that as a substitute of the conventional polo seasons held in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Delhi and Mumbai, new polo centres have propped up in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.

Polo: A game for the elite?

One amongst the biggest criticisms polo faces is its association with the elite. The costs serious about maintaining a polo team — horses, stables, training, and equipment — are astronomical.

Young players like 17-year-old Vishwarupe Bajaj from Mumbai also well-known these financial barriers. “The largest difficulty is buying your individual horses to play at a competitive level,” Bajaj, who has been horse-riding this is often why age of eight, told Firstpost.

“On the opposite hand the more well known polo gets, the more cost-effective this may change into. With more breeding programs and players, the extent of polo will increase.”

Top polo players largely purchase their very own horses, specifically to compete at world-class tournaments all over the place in the globe. One source told Firstpost that the cost of the horses on the pinnacle-level of polo along with their upkeep adds to crores.

On the opposite hand, many serious in regards to the game are working to challenge the notion that polo is exclusively for the elite. Singh shared a poignant anecdote as an instance the other ways people can engage with polo:

“There’s a football team in Italy whose fans… when asked in the event that they play football, they said, ‘No, we just toughen.’ Polo is comparable — it’s for every person in a full lot of capacities. You're ready to be a spectator, a player, a groom, or a sponsor. Despite the truth that I wasn’t a player, I’d still be a fan by reason of sheer visual power of eight horses running at 30 miles an hour on a huge field.”

“Firstly viewership of polo is open to all, anyone can come and watch. You don’t should buy a ticket to return watch polo,” clarified Malik, who may possibly be a lawyer practising in the Supreme Court.

“It’s definitely now now not just for the elite. Polo is an exceedingly welcoming platform. It really is a ways a misconception nevertheless it obviously attracts the elite. Because that you only may possibly take polo as a ways as you take it,” Ben Turner, a UK-based umpire told Firstpost.

More coverage = More viewership = More growth

The dearth of widespread media coverage has hindered polo’s growth in India. Unlike cricket or football, polo rarely makes headlines, limiting its exposure to a broader audience.

“The media has to be more generous with us,” Singh stressed out. “For years, I’ve been pushing for polo to be streamed online or on TV. Once it’s reachable in millions of homes, this may change the fortunes of this sport in India.”

Singh, who became also awarded the ‘Most worthy player’ award on the Sunday final, hinted to Firstpost a pair of imaginable announcement not distant of a tie-up between polo and certain sport telecast channels in the Indian subcontinent.

Firstpost reached out to New Delhi-based media outlet La Polo which is the most effectiv team that covers polo in India at some point of the year. “Every sport requires media coverage to arrive a huge audience, but polo has now now not received its justifiable share despite being one amongst the oldest sports in history,” Maninder S Sethi, editor-in-chief of La Polo told Firstpost.

“In contemporary times, it [polo] is most often reduced to page Three coverage, which focuses more on lifestyle than the substance of the game itself,” added Sethi.

The opposite avenue for growth is through grassroots initiatives. Encouraging young players to take up the game, even at a recreational level, may possibly create a larger base of participants and fans. “While buying your individual horses is critical at a competitive level, renting or sharing horses can make the game more on hand for beginners," said Bajaj.

Events like the Sir Pratap Singh Polo Cup exhibit how engaging polo is likely to be for spectators. The sight of skilled riders maneuvering their horses with precision and speed is a spectacle unlike every other. As Singh pointed out, “Polo makes your heart beat faster just gazing it.”

Working out polo

For newcomers, polo can appear to be a fancy sport. Here’s a short overview to demystify it:

• Teams and Players: Each team consists of four players. Their positions — numbered from 1 to four — determine their role on the sphere, from offence to defence.

• The sphere: Polo is played on a huge grass field, 300 yards long and 100 and sixty yards wide. Goals are scored by hitting a small white ball into the opposing team’s goal using a mallet.

• Handicap system: Players are rated on a handicap scale from -2 (beginner) to +10 (world-class). A team’s total handicap determines the extent of tournaments they are ready to enter.

• Chukkas: Matches consist of four to six periods often is famous as chukkas (or chukkers), every lasting seven minutes.

• Polo horses: Players may use a couple of horses often often is famous as ponies in a single game, switching between chukkas to verify they remain fresh.

• Line of the ball: A key rule governs an appropriate of way, making certain safety. The “line of the ball” refers to the trail the ball travels, and players adhere to it when attempting to hit the ball.

India vs. Global powerhouses

Argentina is universally recognised as the pinnacle of polo, with its players and horses setting the gold standard. England and the United States also boast competitive polo seasons. How does India compare?

“Obviously that you only may possibly’t in point of fact compare anywhere to the pinnacle level of Argentina, because that’s the Formula One amongst Polo,” said Turner. “But at other levels, India is doing well. This day’s match became very competitive for its level,” he told Firstpost, referring to the Sunday final.

Henry Fisher, another professional umpire from the UK who officiated the Delhi fall polo season, echoed this sentiment, telling Firstpost: “It’s going well. I mean, at present time’s match became good. Most levels appear to be quite busy and will take into accounta good amount of teams, some now now not as deal as others. But there’s a spread of polo around different parts of India. So with a bit bit luck this may continue to grow.”

Marambio agreed. “The quality of polo in India is making improvements to by reason of investments in fields, horses, and organisation. They’re on an appropriate path to get deal better.”

The heart of polo: The horses

In polo, horses are more than mere participants — they're the game’s lifeblood. Their speed, agility, and temperament can make or break a match.

“It’s all in regards to the horses,” Ali pointed out. “Horses are the total lot — it’s 20 per cent in regards to the player and Eighty per cent in regards to the horse. Without them, there’s no game.”

India has increasingly turned to Argentina for its polo ponies, a trend Marambio sees as a should-have. “Definitely the right horses in the arena come from Argentina,” he noted. “India’s investment in these horses is raising the everyday of its polo.”

Reflecting on progress in Indian polo vis-à-vis horses, Malik said, “Growth is evident from the variety of horses being imported every year. The number increases year on year.”

“After you fall in love with the horses, you fall in love with polo,” opined Bajaj.

What does the very long time hold for polo in India?

As polo in India gains momentum, there’s cautious optimism about its future. The upward thrust of young players like Bajaj and the continued involvement of international players and umpires are signs of progress.

“There are a spread of latest players, sponsors, and patrons entering the game,” Singh observed. “With more media coverage and public toughen, polo can reclaim its place as a premier sport in India.”

Polo in India stands at a thrilling juncture. As a sport deeply embedded in its history, it has the potential to change into a contemporary-day success story. With investments in infrastructure, horses, and media outreach, and with the passion of its players and organisers, the “Sport of Kings” may soon belong to a deal wider audience.

From the ancient polo fields of Manipur to the sprawling Jaipur Polo Ground, the journey of Indian polo is a ways from over — it’s just origin.

Anmol is a Senior Sub-Editor with Firstpost. He likes to cover stories that intrigue him, on the total revolving around international polity, Indian foreign policy, human interest, environment and even the politically-charged election cycles in India. He has a ways too many disparate interests with a constant itch for travel. Having visited fourteen states in the Indian subcontinent, he is regularly seeking opportunities to add more to the list. He enjoys gazing Football, Tennis and F1 purely as a sports enthusiast. see more