Polo is a sport that can be played individually and in teams. In this game, the players try to hit the ball inside the holes in the ground with the help of the club. There is no exact information about the invention of this game, but it is believed that it was discovered in Europe around the 17th century, after which the game became popular in America and from there it became popular worldwide.
History of Polo
Polo is an international sport, played everywhere from America to Australia. This game is played while riding a horse. You must be thinking that this game must have originated in some foreign land. The game of polo originated in Manipur, one of the states known as the Seven Sisters of India. A throwback to the past, the Silchar Polo Club was founded in 1859 by British military officers and tea planters after then Lieutenant Joy Sherer saw the local people playing the game and decided that the British should too. It must be learned.
From India, polo reportedly reached Malta in 1868, England in 1869, Ireland in 1870, Argentina in 1872 and Australia in 1874. It is said that from 1900-1939, polo was also an Olympic sport. There are two teams in this game, each team consists of four players. There are two goalposts in this game. A long flexible mallet is used to drive a wooden ball into the goalpost.
Rules of the Polo Game
The Polo playing field is very long and the entire field is full of green grass. This ground is called the Polo course. In this, many pits are made at different places, which are called Hazard and they have different numbers. The player has to score points by putting the ball in these pits. The ball is hit with a stick made of wood or metal called a club.
1. A game of polo is played between two teams that have four players on each side.
2. A traditional polo match lasts for about 2 hours and is divided into periods known as ‘chukkas’, or ‘chukkers’.
3. The respective members of each team are designated with the title “Attack” or “Defense”.
4. The rules have been made keeping the rider and the horse’s safety in mind.
5. The basic concept of the game revolves around the line of the ball, which is a right of way established by the trail of a travelling ball. In simple terms, it is the imaginary line that is formed from the time the ball is struck in the air.
6. The mounts in polo are referred to as ‘polo ponies’, and even though the term pony is based on the traditional understanding of the game, mounts are full-grown horses. They weigh around 1000 pounds (approximately 500 kg) and are groomed extensively for this particular sport.
How to play Polo
There are many ways to play it but the two most commonly used ones are specifically the rules and the way to win the game.
Stroke Play: Win the game by making the fewest number of shots to complete the entire course through the ends.
Match Play: In this variant, each hole is counted as if it were a leg. For example, if on the first hole, you needed 2 shots to get into the hole and your opponent used 4 shots, you've got a point, by the time the holes are over, then Till then this happens.
The polo ball is made out of high-impact plastic, although formerly it was made out of either wood or bamboo. The ball is supposed to be 3 1⁄4 inches in diameter and weighs around 4 ounces.
Polo League
The country's first polo league started on the lines of the Pro Kabaddi League and Wrestling League including IPL. It started in Jaipur. Starting from the first week of March, the special feature of this league was that, unlike traditional polo, it was played at night. In which polo players from India and abroad took part.
The founder of the league, Chirag Pareek, while addressing the reporters, said that like the rest of the league, players were auctioned in the Polo League. All the matches of the Polo League were played under floodlights. The focus of the players was on the ball at night, that's why a coloured ball was used instead of a white one.
Governing Bodies Of Polo
The Federation of International Polo was established in 1983 and has its headquarters in Beverley Hills, USA. FIP represents more than 80 countries that play polo and also organizes large-scale tournaments and championships the world over.
The Indian Polo Association is the governing body for all polo-related tournaments and championships in India. The IPA was founded in 1892 and is registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 and Act 1957 which covers the Union Territory of Delhi.
The main tasks carried out by this governing body are to govern the game of polo in India, to publicize the game in collaboration with the Federation of International Polo, and to promote the game on both national and international levels.
