Jaipur
is the home of Indian Polo. Late H.H. Maharaja Sawai
Man Singh - II of Jaipur's patronage of Indian Polo
was so great in the 1950 & 60's that Indian Polo
and its players were famous all over the world. Added
to this the glamour of the Jaipur Royal family made
Jaipur synonymous with Polo and all that it stands
for, the world over.
Polo ! The very name
conjures vision of aristocracy and excellence, of
style and rare athletic prowess. Polo is a game that
signifies power, adventure, beauty, elegance, graceful
team work, class and above all - Tradition. Among
the world's most ancient sports, Polo is not less
than a religion in India. For a game,that is as "Exclusive
as Elusive" ,Jaipur is a natural home of polo,
in India.
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A
Rare Self Autographed Picture of the Early Polo
Greats
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Since the days of
Emperor Akbar it has been the Indian Maharajas that
have given this game its Royal Tradition.The history
of Polo in Indian is full of proud achievements. Rajasthan
is famous for its immortal legends of patriotism,
sacrifice and glorious traditions of valour.Since
1887, this fascinating game has been greatly influenced
by the traditions of Rajasthan. It is a matter of
pride, that most of the high handicap players produced
in India have been from Rajasthan.
From 1887 to 1901, the Jodhpur Team which comprised
of His Highness Sir Pratap Singh, Thakur Dhonkal Singh,
Capt. S. Beatson and Thakur Hari Singh, dominated
the Polo scene in India.After a short spell, the Alwar
team regained supremacy and in 1902 won the "King
Edward's Darbar Tournament" in Delhi. This famous
team included His Highness of Alwar, Motilal, Capt.
Ricketts and Rao Raja Amar Singh.Somehow, after this
success, the team never played together again.Tradition,
you see!
The Kishangarh Team took the lead from the year 1905
for about three years.An unfortunate mishap deprived
them of greater glory in the tournaments held on the
occasion of King George's Darbar in Delhi in 1911.
Motilal, the famous player from Alwar, playing for
this team was knocked over in the final match by a
foul at a critical stage of the game when the Kishangarh
Team was leading by three goals, giving a ,not so
deserving, one goal victory to the Inskilling Dragon
Guards.At that time the Kishangarh Team comprised
of His Highness of Kishangarh, Maharaj Ratan Singh,
Motilal and Thakur Banay Singh.
With the outbreak of the First World War, Polo in
Rajasthan, received a temporary setback. In 1919,
Rajathan lost the Polo Crown for three consecutive
years to the Patiala Team which consisted of Major
Jaswant Singh, Colonel Joginder Singh, Captain Thakur
Singh and General Chanda Singh.
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Indian
Polo Championship, 1957
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Kr.
Bijey Singh, H.H. Maharaja of Jaipur, The Maharani
of Jaipur, Rao Raja Hanut Singh,Kr. Hari Singh.
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Prince
of Wales visited India,to attend a tournament held in
early 1922.The Jodhpur Team With Rao Raja Hanut Singh,
Thakur Prithi Singh, Thakur Dalpat Singh and Thakur
Ram Singh scored over the famous Patiala Team by seven
goals to six after being down at 1- 4 uptill half time.
This was a real achievement for these young players
and they kept up the lead in the game till the year
1926.
For about three years from 1927, the Bhopal Team took
the lead with H.H. the Nawab of Bhopal, Thakur Prithi
Singh, Capt. D. Hay and Rao Raja Hanut Singh in the
saddle. In 1930, the famous Jaipur Team once again rose
to glory and gained supremacy to hold the Crown for
nine consecutive years, and would have proabably done
so for many years more but for the Second World War.
The Jaipur Polo Team has been on top in National Championships
longer than any other team in the history of World Polo.
In the year 1933, the Jaipur Team toured the United
Kingdom and returned with flying colours and an invincible
record having won the Open Championship and other cups
at Hurlingham, Ranelagh and Roehampton. Once again it
was proved that this team which comprised of the world
renowned players - His Highness the Maharaja of Jaipur,
Maharaj Prithi Singh, Rao Raja Abhey Singh and Rao Raja
Hanut Singh, was the most convincing team of all times.
Its monumental performance in Calcutta during the semi-finals
of the Indian Polo Championship Tournament of 1936 consummated
polo performance and will go down in history in letters
of Gold. The Team came out for the last 'Chukkar' 5
goals down but went on to win the match by 1 goal having
hit 6 goals in 7 and a 1/2 minutes against a 31 goal
team.
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Capt.,P.K.
Mehra,H.H. Maharaja of Jaipur, Her Highness Maharani of Jaipur,
Lt. Col. Th. Govind Singh, Lt. V.P. Singh
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In 1957, Capt. Kishan
Singh , Capt. Bijay Singh, Rao Raja Hanut Singh and
Maharaja of Jaipur forming the Indian Polo Team won
fresh laurels for Jaipur by winning the world championship.
No account of Polo in Jaipur,Rajasthan, would be complete
without a reference to the Rajputana Polo Club, which
was formed in the year 1901, with the support of the
various Rajputana States. On the formation of the
State of "Rajasthan" in 1949, this Club
was redesignated "Rajasthan Polo Club" and
its headquarters shifted from Mt. Abu to Jaipur. The
club continued to flourish with the munificence of
the State under the Presidentship of His Highness
Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh Ji of Jaipur.
His Highness Maharaja
Sawai Bhawani Singh Ji of Jaipur continued the endorsement
of the game and headed a number of polo teams which
won a lot of tournaments in India and other foriegn
countries.His Highness Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh
Ji of Jaipur immortalised the Royal family's relation
with Polo by introducing the World cup,called "The
Jaipur World Cup Trophy".His Highness Maharaja
Sawai Bhawani Singh Ji of Jaipur,was also instrumental
in the formation of Federation of International Polo(FIP)
in 1982.He also happened to be a life time honorary
FIP ambassador for INDIA and was a lifetime Vice-President
of Indian Polo Association.
Commitment
of the generations of Royal family to the
game.
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Late His Highness
Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Ji of Jaipur with
his son His Highness Maharaja Sawai Bhawani
Singh Ji of Jaipur.
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Interestingly, Maharaj
Narendra Singh ,the son-in-law of His Highness
Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh Ji of Jaipur,sat
on the horse back for the first time on the
occassion of his wedding with Princess Diya
Kumari of Jaipur in 1997.In order to be able
to continue the family tradition ,he learnt
riding at the age of 31(Year 2003) and held
the polo stick for the first time at age 32(Year
2004) and thereafter there was no looking back
,he has become a name to reckon with in the
polo world in a very short span of time.He is
a 0 handicap player as on date.He has lead the
Royal Jaipur polo team to Germany, Italy and played
extensively around the world. He is presently
the FIP ambassador from India.
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This
tradition has been upheld to this day, through continued
patronage of the game by the people of Jaipur, who
have a special place in their heart, for Polo. It
is not un-common to have a crowd of 20 thousand people
watching the finals of a high goal tournament in Jaipur.
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