Polo stars vie for top honours
Indian Polo stars like Simran Shergill (+ 6), Shamsheer Ali (+ 6), Dhruvpal Godara (+ 5) and Samir Suhag (+ 5) along with the likes of Englishmen Matthew Perry (+ 6) and Tom Brodie (+ 4), and Argentine Manuel Fernandez Llorente (+ 6), will be among those vying for the prestigious La Pegasus Polo Northern India Polo Championship, scheduled between February 19 and 24 at the Jaipur Polo Ground in the capital.
La Pegasus Polo, one of India’s upcoming premier Polo establishments, continues in its endeavor to promote the sport and its players by bagging three- year sponsorship rights of the tournament, which is the toast of the polo fraternity across the nation and the highest level of Polo, played in India.
Incidentally, La Pegasus Polo are also the defending champions of this High- Goal ( 16 Goal) tournament, held under the aegis of the Indian Polo Association and conducted by the Army Polo & Riding Centre.
“We are very happy to have La Pegasus Polo sponsor the top attraction of Delhi’s Spring Polo season, the Northern India Polo Championship and more so because it is a long term commitment. We at the IPA have been working closely with La Pegasus Polo for a long time now and they have been doing a stellar job in growing and promoting Polo in India. This will be another feather in their cap and I congratulate Sanjay Jindal for his vision, passion and commitment,” Ravi Rathore, a + 5 handicap polo player and Arjuna Award winner, said.
This tournament has been played every year since 1922 as a 16 Goal Polo Tournament.
The ‘ Northern India Polo Championship’ trophy is played for the ‘ Ratlam Challenge Cup’ which was donated by the then Maharaja of Ratlam in 1922 at Delhi, also known as ‘ Prince of Wales’ commemoration polo tournament. The Jodhpur Polo team won the first tournament played that year.
Last year, the La Pegasus Polo team beat Sona/ Jindal Panther 9- 7 in the finals to win the title.
Among the four to five teams expected to participate will be the likes of Sahara/ Rajnigandha, Sona Polo, Jindal Panthers, Garcha Hotels and Aravalli Polo apart from the La Pegasus Polo team.