The Indian Military Academy celebrated its 70th Anniversary on December 10, this year. To kickstart the anniversary celebrations, a national level polo tournament was organised. Lt Gen TS Shergill, Commandant, Indian Military Academy, who has himself been a national level polo player with a handicap of Plus 4, has been reviving this game in the Academy after a gap of eight years. Towards this end, three polo fields have been re-laid and two of them are equipped with new infrastructure. IMA hopes to make this tournament a bi-yearly event and reinstate it to its former glory by inviting teams from all over India and abroad. The selection trials for the national polo team that would participate in the World Cup 2003 are also slated to be held at IMA.

Polo in India was originally played in Gilgit, Chitral and Manipur. It was very popular with Mughal emperors who called it chaugan. One of the early kings, Kutubuddin Aibek, died in a polo accident. In fact, it was the Emperor Akbar who was the first king to introduce a set of rules for the game. Polo was then not a very fast game as were it was played on small ponies. After the World War I, international rules were framed which all countries accepted and now polo is played under these rules everywhere.

The Indian Polo Association was formed in 1892. Some of the prominent teams at that time came from Alwar, Bhopal, Bikaner, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Patiala, Jodhpur, Aishengarh and Kashmir. The cavalry regiments of the British and the Indian armies also fielded teams, prominent among them the Central India Horse, Prince Albert Victors own Cavalry, Inni-skilling Dragoon Guards, 10th Royal Hussars, 15th Lancers and 1/21st Lancers.

Polo has been played at IMA from its very inception in the Doon valley. The Academy boasts of having produced some of the finest polo players. World famous polo players such as Col KS Garcha, Col RS Brar, Col P Sodhi, Col HS Sodhi, Col JS Virk, Col Bhavani Singh, Maj Ajay Ahlawat, Maj Tarun Sirohi, Maj Manoj Diwan, Maj AS Randhawa, Brig VP Singh, Lt Gen DK Palit, Lt Gen Kapil Vij and Lt Gen MS Shergill are just a few to mention out of the innumerous alumni of this cradle. Quite a few of them are Arjuna Award winners as well.

The revival of the national level polo tournaments organised by the IMA proved to be a great success. As part of the tournament, matches for the Aspen Crew Cup, Uttaranchal Tourism Cup and Windlass Cup were played in October this year. The 61 Cavalry, President’s Body Guard, RVC, NDA and Thunderbolts apart from the IMA team showcased their grit, spirit, professionalism and love for the game in these tournaments.

During the celebrations, there was a heady mix of activities on display to go along with the ‘king of games’. The Gentlemen Cadets and the Doon residents got to see Army dogs do the most amazing things, ‘dare devil’ horse riding and a sky diving show.

The public was thrilled to see the exploits of some of India’s best polo players. Sumeer Suhag, player with the highest handicap at the tournament, justified his ranking with his excellent mallet work, riding skills and shots. Maj Ajay Ahlawat, a veteran of two World Cups from the Indian Military Academy, was the darling of the crowd not only for his polo skills but also for his hair-raising trick riding which he insisted on performing in spite of the wet ground. Other players who put in spectacular performances were Col J S Virk, Maj Tarun Sirohi, Major Atul Gupta, Simran Shergill, GC Bhawani Upadhyay and GC Aditya Sharma.

Doonites responded overwhel- mingly to this effort of the Academy to reinstate the glory of the game. It is this enthusiasm that ultimately would pavs the way for making this tournament, a permanent feature in the Doon Valley.

In the mood well set by this event, the polo team from the Indian Military Academy participated in the national Fall Polo Season which was also held in October. The team bagged the prestigious Ratnada Cup against 17 other reputed teams from all over the nation—a feat they have achieved for the first time in the history of the Academy. That is quite a revival. The fever is on!