Not many think of India as a Nation that excels at the game of Polo! It certainly does. Recently, Iran lost to India in the World Polo Championship 2017 qualifiers. This has ensured India a place to play at the championship event at the Sydney Polo Club, Richmond, NSW. The World Polo Championship 2017 will be held in October , 2017 in Sydney, Australia.
Indranil Halder who is a great Polo enthusiast informs us that a total of eight teams will participate in the competition. Australia (host), Chile (reigning world champions), Uruguay and New Zealand have already qualified for the World Polo Championship 2017. Six days of world-class polo will commence on Saturday 21st October, with the final to take place on Sunday 29th October. "The Indian diplomatic circle, Indian business circle and Indian polo enthusiasts are excited to engage the Indian diaspora and multicultural Australia to enjoy an opulent game of polo", he adds.
The invention of Polo took place in Persia, however, India is the birth place of modern polo. India has a heritage of polo and it is Manipur in North Eastern India where modern polo evolved. In 1859, British military officers and tea planters. founded the Silchar Polo Club. Quick on the heels of this club came up the Calcutta Polo Club in 1862 which celebrated 150 years in 2011. The Calcutta Polo Club enjoyed the patronage of royalty like the Maharaja of Burdwan, Maharaja of Cooch Behar and Nizam of Hyderabad. The Nawab of Bengal Wasif Ali Mirza was also a polo enthusiast.
Indranil tells us that International royalties such as the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales and Sultan of Brunei also visited the Calcutta Polo club. They had rubbed shoulders with Indian polo stalwarts like Maharaja Sawai Man Singh of Jaipur, Col Maharaj Prem Singh and others. Legend has it that the charming Maharani Gayatri Devi fell in love with Maharaja Sawai Man Singh of Jaipur here in the city of joy.
From India, Polo spread to Malta in 1868, England in 1869, Ireland in 1870, Argentina in 1872 and Australia in 1874.Today, there are over 84 countries participating in the game of polo. The Federation of International Polo,was established in 1982. This year- 2017 World Polo Championship will be held in Sydney.
The above painting was commissioned by the Halders of Sydney, Australia , Calcutta, India and New Jersey, to celebrate the historical connection between polo and Calcutta, to honour the special bond between horse and human and to pay tribute to Sydney for hosting the World Polo Championship.
