Naveen Jindal, owner of the Jindal Panther polo team, voiced confidence that polo could return to the Olympic programme, a prospect he linked to a future occasion when India takes on the role of host nation. His comments came after the Jindal Panther Cup final, played at the Jindal Polo Estate in Noida on Sunday, in which his team went down to Vimal Arion Achievers by six goals to nine.
Speaking after the match, Jindal pointed to improvements in transportation infrastructure and sporting facilities as factors that could support polo's return to the Olympic programme. He noted that the sport's previous appearance at the Olympic Games had come during the 1936 Berlin edition, and that polo had held a place on the programme through to that year. Jindal also observed that horse transport infrastructure has expanded over the years, with aircraft now able to carry horses to destinations across the globe.
A proposal for polo's inclusion in the Olympic programme was among the aspirations tied to India's formal bid to host the 2036 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, with Ahmedabad put forward as the candidate city.
Polo in its contemporary form traces its roots to north-eastern India, where British military officers encountered the game during the 1850s. The game reached England during the 1870s, from where it spread to the United States and Argentina. Silchar, in the northeastern region of Assam, hosted the founding of polo's earliest recorded club in 1859, with a second organisation established in Calcutta three years later.
Jindal noted that the Jaipur Polo Ground has served as a venue for the sport across a span of 135 years, placing it among the older polo settings in the country. Land and Development Office representatives assumed control of the Jaipur Polo Ground in June — a 15.20-acre property situated within Delhi's Race Course area — after the Indian Polo Association's legal challenge to a government eviction notice did not succeed. Advocates have called on the government to invest in polo infrastructure, a sport with deep historical roots on the Indian subcontinent.
Vimal Arion Achievers defeated Jindal Panther by nine goals to six, a result in which 17-year-old Savir Godara contributed notably. The Jindal Panther side — comprising Jindal, Mahesh, Gaurav Sehgal, and Arjuna Award recipient Simran Singh Shergill — faced a deficit from early on and was unable to mount a comeback.
Dhruvpal Godara put Achievers on the board in the opening chukker, with his son Savir adding to the tally shortly after to hand the side an advantage from the outset. Jindal and Gaurav Sehgal pulled Panther back into contention, though Achievers continued adding to their total through the efforts of Savir and Chris Jake. Attacking play from the leading side carried through the later chukkers, with Dhruvpal, Shergill, and Chris each contributing, while Gaurav converted a further goal on behalf of Panther. A three-goal margin separated the sides at the final whistle, with Achievers claiming the win.
Godara, named among those being prepared for the upcoming Polo World Cup, received Jindal's backing for a place in the squad, though the full roster of selections had yet to be finalised.
Savir described competing alongside his father, Dhruvpal Godara, under the Vimal Arion Achievers banner as an experience he had long looked forward to. Identifying himself as a polo player following in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather, Savir noted that competing alongside his father brought him considerable satisfaction. He pointed to his family as the foundation of his development on the polo field and placed horsemanship at the centre of his game, noting that riding remains the element he focuses on above all else. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Savir took up riding and stick-and-ball work as a deliberate outlet, building his training around the sport.
Savir pointed to an influx of younger players coming through the ranks in India as the basis for his view that polo could find a place on the Olympic programme, allowing that the outcome was within the realm of possibility.
Dhruvpal noted that polo in India was drawing a younger wave of players and that inclusion in the Olympics could open a path to the sport competing at that level. He also reflected on how the Achievers squad had come together well and described the final as closely contested, with fortune playing a part in the outcome. Reflecting on competing alongside Savir, he described their shared training as the foundation for the on-field understanding that developed between them, and added that Savir's participation carried particular weight for the family, given that he represents its third generation to take up polo.
