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No more a rich man's game
D. RAVI SHANKAR
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Now you can enjoy a game of polo at the Agaram Riding and Polo Academy at the Army Service Corps Centre and College
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FULL STEAM The sight of polo riders in full gallop chasing the ball gives anyone a high.
"What polo, uncle? I know only J Lo," said a young tyke once to a senior officer attached to the Army Service Corps Centre and College (ASCC&C). The officer, a top polo player, couldn't help but acknowledge the fact that polo is often perceived as a rich man's game.
The expense involved in learning polo is so huge that parents don't even consider it as an option for children. But the good news is that the Army is making a concerted effort to promote the sport and is trying to make the game affordable for serious learners.
Three years ago, the ASCC&C re-established the Agaram Riding and Polo Academy (ARPA) under the patronage of Lt. Gen. Jagdish Chander (Retd.) and Brig. G.S. Rathore. The academy presently has Lt. Gen. S.K. Dahiya as the Chief Patron. The academy has 40 horses plus five foals and fillies. Members at the ARPA range from five-year-olds to a 77-year-old.
People from IT companies, government employees, housewives and even MDs and CEOs have enrolled. Anyone (after due scrutiny, of course) can get a membership by paying an initial deposit of Rs. 15,000 and then Rs. 200 per hour per day for casual riding. Polo is said to have originated from Persia and Afghanistan. The Buzkashi tribes played a similar war-like game with a goat's head being used as a ball and the riders violently charging at each other (remember Rambo III?).
A more dignified version of the game later evolved with a ball made from bamboo, willow root, and leather, and now plastic is the material of choice. The Mughals introduced polo to India but it gained in popularity when it was played regularly in the north-eastern states. Kolkata is believed to have the oldest polo club in the country.
A polo team consists of four mounted players with 16 ponies available for the duration of the match.
The playing time is divided into four or sometimes six chukkers, which last about seven minutes each.
Play is usually uninterrupted (except stoppage for fouls and injury time), and a hooter or bugle is sounded for the first 30 seconds before the stop of the chukker and again to signify close of the chukker.
The polo field is about the size of nine football fields and a competitive field measures 300 by 150 yards.
The mallet used by the polo riders to strike the ball is usually made of cane (now fibreglass is also used) and the ball is hit with the side of the mallet. Each player is given a handicap (ranging from - 2 to + 10) and the plus handicap players are the better players.
Maj. Nakul Yadav
Penalty hits are called knock-ins and the players' objective is to score as many goals as possible during the playing time. Players change goals every time a goal is scored.
The game is exhilarating, extreme and exciting. This is the only game where the ball is struck while travelling at speeds of about 50 miles an hour. The sight of polo riders in full gallop chasing the ball in order to shoot into goal posts eight yards apart at the end of the polo field is amazing.
The late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was an avid polo player and he has recounts in his autobiography My Early Years how he implored his mother to send him money to continue playing the game. He even bought a number of ponies and formed a team in order to participate in the most prestigious tournament in India at that time.
The ASCC&C ground is now the venue for an exciting Inter-City Polo Tournament and the finale is on May 14. The event has seen some top riders of the country participating and ARPA's duo of Maj. Nakul Yadav and Maj. Sanjeev Yadav have been making a mark with their excellent horsemanship.
Other riders to impress are Capt. Navneet Singh, Lt. Col. S.S. Kashyap and Captain Faiz Siddiqui. Colonel Balbir Singh epitomised the spirit of the game despite taking a nasty fall from his horse.
He remounted after a brief rest and played out the chukker during match against the Bangalore team.
PHOTOS: MURALI KUMAR K.
Maj. Sanjeev Yadav from the Agaram Riding and Polo Academy have been making a mark with their excellent horsemanship.
Lt. Col. S.K Nohwar too showed that age was no barrier when playing the game. The sprightly fifty plus colonel impressed everybody with his attacking play. The final promises to be a cracker. Jaipur the other strong team in the three-team tournament will be shored up with plus-five handicapper `Pinka' Virk in the side.
Bangalore, winner of two tournaments — the Silver cup and the Gold Cup, has set its sights on the eight-foot-tall Inter-City Cup and will also sport a plus-five handicapper, a top civilian player, for the finals.
The entry to the venue is free and all equestrian lovers can have a great time on Saturday. To contact ARPa call Maj. Nakul Yadav on 25006634 or 25356121.
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