Inaugural Indian Arena Polo League to start on April 13

The six-team franchise-based tournament will attract players from 20 countries in the four-week-long tournament. The final will be played on May 7.

FILE PHOTO: Sawai Padmanabh Singh takes a swing with his mallet at the Rajasthan Polo Club, Jaipur, on October 20, 2022. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

The first edition of the Indian Arena Polo League (IAPL) will get underway here on April 13. The six-team franchise-based tournament will attract players from 20 countries in the four-week-long tournament. The final will be played on May 7. Jaipur is the other venue chosen for the event.

Top Indian players like Simran Shergill, Dhruvpal Godara, Shamsheer Ali, Vishal Chauhan, and the current Indian Captain H.H. Sawai Padmanabh Singh will be the key attraction in the opening season apart from the foreign signings.

The league will be played in the Arena Polo format, which is the quicker and more exciting format of the game. Matches will be broadcast live on television and OTT platforms.

“The intention to create the Indian Arena Polo League has the complete support of the IPA. With the advent of IAPL the sport of Polo will gain a younger & global audience,” Colonel Rohit Dagar, secretary of the Indian Polo Association, said in a press statement.

Polo has a history in India dating back to 1834, with the first polo club set up in Silchar, Assam. Calcutta Polo Club, established in 1862 and still in existence, was instrumental in spreading the sport globally.