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the-south-asian Life & Times July-Sep 2011 |
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Sports Tennis Feature Indian
Military Lt Gen R S Sujlana - A Conversation
Royals in
Uniform Art
Adventure 60
Years of Indian
Travel
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Team India
Advances to FIP World Championships
Team India has won
the
Asian-Australasian-African Polo Championships – their first international
polo title away from home in 50 years -
and advanced to the Federation of International Polo (FIP) World
Championships after defeating Pakistan 12-9 in the Finals. The championships
also serve as the seven-nation Zone D Qualifier for the 2011 FIP Polo World
Cup Finals to be held in San Luis, Argentina from Oct 11-25.
Team India, led by
team captain Col Tarun Sirohi, were undefeated in the tournament with wins
over pre-tournament favourites Australia, hosts Malaysia, and defending
champions South Africa. They will now look to keep the momentum going as
they head for San Luis – and hopefully will return home victorious once
again.
India’s Samir Suhag (Handicap 5) was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament – 21 goals in four matches! A jubilant Vikram Rathore, India’s Team Manager, said: “This is the best polo team India has assembled in over 20 years. We have remained unbeaten here and we are improving with every match.”
The journey to this historic victory began in the month of May on the
blistering plains of Jaipur, where the team assembled for a week-long
fitness and conditioning camp, soon after which they left for Jakarta,
Indonesia, at the invitation of Nusantara Polo Club. This was not a
pre-tournament R & R. It was three weeks of gruelling regimen in match
practice and match fitness in preparation for the World Cup qualifiers. The
team acclimatized to the humid conditions and got used to playing on
different horses. The practice games in the humid weather helped them a
great deal in the tournament games in Malaysia.
The team of five – Major Vishal Chauhan (+2), Major Ravi Rathore (+3), Mr.
Samir Suhag (+5), Mr. Simran Shergill (+4), and the team captain Col. Tarun
Sirohi (+3) - arrived in Kuantan in the state of Pahang, Malaysia, on June
10th. The draws for the horses were held the following day and
the team tried out the allotted horses for a couple of days. The Opening
Ceremony on 13th June was where teams from the seven
participating countries were formally introduced. This was followed by the
first game of the tournament between South Africa & Nigeria.
The seven countries playing the Qualifier were Australia, New Zealand, South
Africa, Nigeria, Pakistan, India, and hosts Malaysia. Of these, Australia,
New Zealand and South Africa were the seeded teams - based on their
performances in the previous World Cup games.
India’s second game was against hosts Malaysia – a team that had been
preparing for the World Cup for more than two years and had a six-month
training and coaching stint in Argentina.
India, however,
made a change to the team for this game, resting their No 2 Ravi Rathore and
instead played Simran Shergill. India defeated the hosts 12 – 5. Samir Suhag
was on fire, scoring seven goals. This win took India to the Semi-finals,
and they were drawn
to play against tournament favourites and defending champions South Africa.
India’s team remained the same as in the previous game against
Malaysia, and they beat South Africa
9 - 5.
Samir Suhag scored
five goals. And India was now to play Pakistan in the Finals. The rest, as
they say, is history! The Indian team, still playing the same players as in
the previous two games, won 12 -9. It was
a well attended game at the Royal Selangor Polo Club in Kuala Lumpur with
the Prime Minister of Malaysia -
Dato Seri tun Abdul Najib as the Chief Guest. Amongst the dignitaries
were the Sultan of Pahang, the Chief of Army Staff of the Malaysian Army,
and the Indian High Commissioner amidst thousands of supporters for both the
teams. Former IPA Vice President HH Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur was there
as well, to cheer and support Team India.
It was a double whammy for India – not only did they win the
championship, they also had the Most Valuable Player of the tournament in
their team – Samir Suhag!
India will be among the ten teams to play the 14-goal FIP World
Championships in Argentina later this year. Qualifying countries from the
four zones are:
Zone A – USA & Mexico
Zone B – Brazil; (Argentina
qualifies as hosts, and Chile qualifies as the defending champion)
Zone D – India, Pakistan, and Australia (after
beating South Africa in the playoff for third placing).
Zone C - Villa a Sesta in Italy will host the Zone C qualifiers from 22
September to 2 October. The teams are yet to be decided but Italy, France,
Spain, Germany, Netherlands and England are expected to participate.
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