The Presidents Polo Cup was held at the President’s Body Guard Field in the Presidential Palace Complex (also known as the Rashtrapati Bhavan). For the 1st time in the tournaments history, before the final match an exhibition game was played, which consisted of team members from various expanse of the diversity of the Indian society, including young ladies on each side giving a flip to Indian polo.
The event started with the arrival of the President of India in his motorcade lead by the Mounted Sawars of the President’s Body Guard, which was followed by the national anthem of India.
The exhibition match was followed by high-octane match, which consisted of the best of Indian polo players. The team Forest Rangers, which included Samir Suhag, Brig T.S Mundi, Rajat Rai Khatri and Dhruv Pal Godhra, encountered team Ridge Chargers that consisted of Lt. Gen. A. Sahni, Smasheer Ali, Ramesh Kumar and Cdr. A.P. Singh.
Both teams gave each other a tough fight throughout all chukkas. It was a great game, which was finally won by team Forest Rangers. The match ended with a display of Trick Ridding by the Mounted Horsemen of the Presidential Body Guard and prize distribution consisting of the huge President’s Cup was lifted by team Forest Rangers and was followed by a high tea in the regal settings.
The President of India along with the Secretary to the President of India, The Military Secretary to the President of India, key members of his staff and important dignitaries attended this match at the President’s Body Guard Field. The field is used only by the President’s Body Guard unit, which was raised in 1773 at Benares by the then Governor, Warren Hastings. It was first christened as “The Guard of Moguls”.
The splendor of the Rashtrapati Bhavan is multi-dimensional. It is a vast mansion and its architecture is breathtaking. More than these, it has a hallowed existence in the annals of democracy for being the residence of the President of the largest democracy in the world. Few official residential premises of the Head of the State in the world will match the Rashtrapati Bhavan in terms of its size, vastness and its magnificence. This vast mansion has got four floors and 340 rooms. With a floor area of 200,000 square feet it is built by using 700 million bricks and three million cubic feet of stone. Hardly any steel has gone into the construction of the building.