More grassroots tournaments vital to polo's growth in India: Simran Singh Shergill

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) Arjuna awardee and star Indian polo player Simran Singh Shergill asserts that expanding entry-level tournaments is crucial to broadening the talent pool and boosting the sport's visibility in India, helping polo shed its niche status and reach a wider audience.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, the polo veteran shed light on the game’s status in the country, the decline in the number of players, and how the introduction of more corporate leagues can change that status.

"Well, unfortunately, the number of players in polo in India, right now, has reduced. So, I think this is one of those things that polo goes through. Currently, the number of younger players and seniors has decreased, resulting in a slight reduction in overall player strength. But we have good young players coming through the system. So, hopefully, in a few years, we will have more players playing the game. But at the moment, we have a few, not so many,” Shergill told IANS.

"We need to have more tournaments of a lower level, not very high-goal tournaments. If we have more lower-level tournaments, it will be helpful. There will be more participation. People who are even lower in handicap can be placed in more competitive teams, and they have a good chance to win.

"If we have more lower-level tournaments, it will be helpful. There will be more participation. People who are even lower in handicap can be placed in more competitive teams and they have a good chance to win. And have more tournaments with young players in every centre. There should be more junior tournaments, which will promote all these younger boys and give them a chance to play and come to the line right. So, I think that is one of the things that needs to be done at the moment to encourage the sport in the country,” he added.

Shergill, who has represented India globally and powered Jindal Panther Polo Team to major wins, was affected by the recent flood in the Yamuna that hindered his practice for the upcoming season, which starts with the Delhi leg.

"Well, preparation was going quite well. Unfortunately, we had a bout of floods at our base in Noida. As you might know, last month, Yamuna, which runs in Noida, because of the increase in water coming from the mountains, the river flooded. So, it sort of flooded some of our polo fields and stables and also we had to make arrangements and the grounds all got water on it. So, we are just in the process of trying to restore our fields so we can go back to playing again,” the polo star said.

“We will probably start with the Delhi season whenever the Delhi season starts in the third week of October. That's when the Delhi season is supposed to start. So, we will start with the Delhi season. That's going to be the next tournament that we play. We are supposed to have polo at our centre over here in Noida, but that is sort of dependent on if we can get the place up to the level to have competitive tournaments because with the flood, there is a lot of sand and mud that comes on the ground. So, we are just in the process of clearing all of that out.”

Shergill, who continues to mentor the next generation of players, lavished high praise on his Jindal Panther Polo Team members, including captain Naveen Jindal and some foreign players.

“Well, we have Naveen Jindal who is obviously a very good player. We have Siddhant Sharma, who also plays in our team. Naveen's son, Venkatesh, has started playing. He played a bit last year. He got a good stint in England in the summer where he played a lot of tournaments and played a few high-goal tournaments with a 10-goal player also. So, he is in good shape,” he said.

“And then we are having foreign players also joining the team. We have a guy called Nicholas Corti-Medina who has 5 goals. He is coming to play. We have another guy called Gracia Grossi who has 6 goals. He is a very good player. He is coming to play. We have another one called Salvador Horaci who has 5 goals. He is a very good player. He is coming to play. So, we are very excited about the season and having all these players coming and playing in our team.”

The 42-year-old polo star further elaborated on how the corporate’s involvement can completely change the image of the sport in India.

"As you might know, polo is generally everywhere in the world and is run in a system where corporate houses own and run teams as opposed to teams being run by states. They are not really state teams but corporate houses run it. So, if this IPL format or this commercial format is run where players get opportunity, they make more teams, have more corporates, have more visibility towards the game, for sure it will encourage players coming in.

“It will encourage existing players to work harder and invest more in the game. As you know, polo is an expensive game. So, buying horses and increasing or improving your strength is something that always helps. I think the induction or the input of some money coming in would definitely help the sport,” Shergill said.

When asked will the induction of polo in the Khelo India programme increase the accessibility of the sport? Shergill replied, "I think for sure it will help the accessibility and it will help bring in more newer people to start the game. I think for the success of any sport, if more people start it or if there is more visibility towards that game, more advertising, more people come to watch, for sure it will end up having a bigger advantage. I think any avenue that we can have to compete in more tournaments, in different tournaments, will definitely help the game in some way or the other.”

"I would say that for anyone who would like to take up the game, they should try to be fit, try to be healthy, have good practices, work hard,” he concluded.

--IANS

ab/bc