The time to praise polo players’ talent, hard work, and determination is around the corner. The highly anticipated Indian Polo Awards is returning for the third time this year on the 12th of January at the prestigious venue of The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai. TIPA (The Indian Polo Awards) plays a crucial role in shaping the game’s future, recognising every aspect of the game by awarding several categories.
This first-of-a-kind event was featured for the first time in India in the year 2021 in hopes of rewarding excellence within the community. In previous years, players like HH Sawai Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur (for The Most Valuable Polo Player Award), Kuldeep Singh Rathore (for The Promising Polo Player), Hurr Ali (for Young Polo Player), and many more have been awarded for their hard work towards the game. Apart from these, several other categories, such as Polo Commentator of the Season and Polo Club of the Season, have been recently introduced by TIPA.
The Benevolent Venue
The Taj Mahal Palace, a 5-star Deluxe Hotel in Mumbai, is the promising host to the third season of TIPA. It is India’s first-ever luxurious hotel, features top-notch services such as high-tea and live music every evening, 9 iconic restaurants and bars, and also a luxurious shopping arcade.
Now, if you’re a little lost on how to reach the place, here’s what you need to do. Taj Colaba is about 1 hour and 20 minutes away (by car) from the airport via Western Express Highway, and the exact location of the place can be noted as Apollo Bandar, Colaba, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001.Â
About The Event
The event is mainly about emphasising the rich history of Polo in India, which is about two centuries old. Through this one grand ceremony hosted once every year (since 2021), the Indian Polo community, including players, sponsors, and even grounds and staff, is rightfully honoured for its meticulous hard work.
Various Polo dignitaries such as Andriy Bilyy From The Ukrainian Polo Federation, Raden Mohammed Iman Kusumo, Chairman Of The Indonesian Polo Association, Faroukh Saleh Younes, Honorary President Of The Egyptian Polo Federation And Founding Ambassador Of The Federation Of International Polo, and noted the significance of these awards giving testimonials congratulating LA POLO and the whole of Indian Polo community for receiving these awards.
The Momentousness of TIPA
Despite being an ancient sport, it took quite a long time before the game gradually became well-known among people. In a country where sport is regarded as a religion, especially ‘Cricket’, Polo has remained overshadowed. But with the help of TIPA, this ancient sport hopes to retain its rightful place among the top sports followed in India.
The Indian Polo Awards Season 3 will continue this dedicated run in promoting the sport all over the nation, attracting more and more youngsters towards the sport and honouring them duly based on their dedication and hard work towards the game. It will also help people to know about the present prodigies in the game who mount their steeds and go on swinging their mallets to be recognised for their marvellous performance on the field, just like any other sport.
Here are the Categories for this year’s Indian Polo Awards:
1 Baroda Traditional Polo Player
2 Jammu & Kashmir The Army Polo Player
3 Jaipur The Polo Patron
4 Alwar The Polo Trainer (Army)
5 Alwar The Polo Trainer (Civil)
6 The Polo Groom
7 Gwalior The Best Polo Pony
8 Bhopal Pataudi The Best Polo Ground
9 Contribution to Polo
10 The Young Polo Player
11 Patiala The International Polo Player
12 The Promising Polo Player
13 Emerging Lady Polo Player
14 The Best Team (High Goal)
15 The Best Team (Low Goal)
16 LA POLO Lifetime Achievement
17 Jindal Panther The Most Valuable Polo Player
18 The Emerging Polo Player
19 Polo Commentator of the Season
20 Polo Club of the Season
