‘Sports is for all’
Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur, India’s youngest maharaja and also the youngest ever polo player to represent India in the Polo World Cup, talks about leading team India, passion for the sport, his favourite players and more
The son of Princess Diya Kumari and Maharaja Narendra Singh, Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh, may be all of nineteen but he is a true-blue adventurer. The member of the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur has recently become the youngest ever polo player to represent India in a World Cup tourney scheduled to be held in Iran from 29 June to 7 July this year. Surrounded by the royal sport, it was natural that he would take it up. He shares that as an adolescent, he would accompany his late grandfather Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singhji of Jaipur to the polo grounds every season. The 19-year-old recalls, “My late grandfather used to host the Jaipur season at Rambagh Polo Club twice every year. So every day of those months, I would go and watch several international players as well as national players like Yuvraj Shivraj Singh of Jodhpur, Yuvraj Vikramaditya Singh of Kashmir on the field. It used to be superbly thrilling.”
Padmanabh has studied at Mayo College in Ajmer and Millfield School in London where he excelled himself in the game of polo. But it was only the week after his grandfather passed away in April 2011, that he took up dressage and picked up the mallet, competing at the age of 15 in his first polo game in England.
“The first time I sat on a horse I got very scared. My grandfather was always keen that I start riding, and I regret that I didn’t even begin while he was alive. I wish that he could see me now,” says Padmanabh who is also the brand ambassador for clothing brand La Martina.
Year 1957 is said to be the golden age of polo when Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II, a 10-goal player, took the Jaipur team to victory in the Polo World Cup in Deauville, France. As a successor to this legacy, young Padmanabh says that he would love to see the grand era of polo return to his city. He says, “If you utter the name of Jaipur, anywhere in the world, people naturally associate it with polo. And I want to make Jaipur a destination for the sport again.”
The game has always been synonymous with royalty but of late it has also been taken up by non-royals. For that Padmanabh says, “I think that it is a great step forward. I have always believed that it is inappropriate for a game or a sport to be purely associated with just one section of the society. Sports is for all; it has to be inclusive. So, I am happy that increasingly more people from different sections of the society are playing the game now. This also helps in tapping hidden talent, which was not the case earlier as it was only being confined to the elites.”
About the change in the polo culture that he has noticed over the years, he says, “The polo culture has changed in the sense that the game has become more professional now. Previously, the game was merely played a hobby or played purely for pleasure and fun and not as a full-time profession. Now, one could easily craft an entire career out of the game if they take it up professionally.” Lastly, ask him about his favourite polo players, he shares, “On the ground, I have always considered Adolfo Cambiaso as the best player. He has been reigning as number one for the past 16 years. His consistency, as well as technical advancement, remains unchallenged. Off the ground, I rank Prince William as one of the greatest players.” The young royal who has played with both Prince William and Harry, further says, “He is extremely polite, kind and gentlemanly. In one of the matches, there was a lady player and he was absolutely polite and gentlemanly towards her. The game of polo sometimes can become very competitive but Prince William always maintains the basic courtesies.”
If you utter the name of Jaipur, anywhere in the world, people naturally associate it with polo.