The Indri Indian Open polo championship concluded in Delhi on Sunday, with the Sahara Warriors bagging the winning title after scoring 10 goals against the Jindal Panthers, who scored five goals in a six-chukker match. The tournament, organised by the Piccadily Group, was held in the national capital’s Jaipur Polo Ground. The match was played in the presence of Chief Guest Venod Sharma, former Union Minister.
While speaking to The Daily Guardian, Venod Sharma said, “It was an interesting match and both the teams played really well and as in sports the best team always wins. I am delighted to be a part of this fantastic game.”
Other eminent guests present on the ground were MP and eminent lawyer Vivek Tankha, Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon, and Managing Director and founder of ITV Network, Kartikeya Sharma, amongst a host of other industrialists and polo fans present at the Jaipur Polo Ground.
The final match was inaugurated by Member of Parliament and notable lawyer, Vivek Tankha.
Sahara Warriors won the Indian Open polo title for the fourth time, where its Capitan and Prince of Jaipur, Sawai Padmanabh Singh (Pacho, as he is known in polo circles) won the most valuable player of the match award, after he scored over five goals in the final match.
The final match between the Jindal Panthers and the Sahara Warriors began at around 3 PM on Sunday, with the Jaipur Polo ground filled with spectators and polo fans cheering for both teams. The match was a nail-biter in the first half when both teams were going head to head against each other.
After the first chukker, both teams had one goal each on the scoreboard, and the match went on a tightrope till the second chukker. After the second chukker, the Sahara Warriors pulled the match to its side, by scoring three goals, whereas the Jindal Panthers was restricted to three goals till then.
However, post this, the match almost went one sided, with Sahara Warriors exhibiting a fantastic game for themselves and restricting the Jindal Panthers to just five goals till the end of the sixth chukker, while the Sahara Warriors scored 10 goals in total in the game.
The Sahara Warriors was led by Sawai Padmanabh Singh (Pacho) along with his three other colleagues, Shamsheer Ali, Daniel Otamendi and Juan Cruz Losada. The Jindal Panthers on the other hand was led by Naveen Jindal himself and along with him, his three other teammates included J.P. Clarkin, Simran S. Shergill and Dirk Van Reenen.
Naveen Jindal, captain and founder of the Jindal Panthers team, while speaking to The Daily Guardian said, “This was an amazing game and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The other team was an all-professional team. We started well, but then they took a lead and we could not catch up. Sahara Warriors dominated the game since the beginning and we are happy they won. They deserved to win today.”
Sawai Padmanabh Singh (Pacho), captain of Sahara Warriors, told The Daily Guardian, “It was a great game today. Although a tough match, but we pulled it off with my stellar teammates. The other three players in my team are thorough professionals and they supported me and we won. The Jindal Panthers were also a good team, but our team’s effort, dedication and a strong system that we had put in place made us win today.”
Apart from the final match, the Jaipur Polo Ground also witnessed an exhibition match before the finals began, where two teams, Indri and Aurika competed with each other.
The Indri team won the exhibition match.
Sanjay Kapoor, famous polo player who was leading the Indri team spoke to The Daily Guardian. He said, “It was a lovely weather in Delhi, with winter slowly setting in. I really enjoyed the game today. We dominated in the game against Aurika. They were a thorough team but we were able to pull off this victory. I thank the sponsor Indri for bringing in such lovely people and impetus to this Indian sporting event. Two weeks of Indian polo season are remaining and I am sure such events would certainly bring more talent to the fore.”