26 Feb 2012|Noida | Jaipur Polo Ground, New Delhi
Amity Polo Cup – India’s only Polo Cup played to support Underprivileged Girl Childern
The well mowed turf of Jaipur Polo Grounds once again played host to the much awaited finals of “ 8th Amity Polo Cup”- India’s only Polo Event played in support of Underprivileged girl children.
Every year, Amity Riding and Polo Academy organize Amity Polo Cup to impact social development and instill the spirit of social responsibility amongst all its students. The event aims to raise awareness and funds for Amity Humanity Foundation through which Amity Group educates underprivileged girl children free of cost under its project “Amitasha”.
The Grand Amity Polo Cup is one of the most awaited Polo tournaments hosted at Jaipur Polo Grounds during the season and is touted as the most spectacular and exciting event by the connoisseurs, patrons and who’s who of the city.
Over 8 teams vied for the title during Amity Polo Cup which commenced on February 19 with India’s star four and five goalers including Mr. George Meyrick from ASC, Mr. Simran Shergill and Mr. Miguel Saravia from Jindal Steel And Power, Lt Col Navjit Sandhu from Cavalry USPA, Mr. Dhruvpal Godara from Navy Mumbai Polo, Mr. Samir Suhag- Cavalry TJP, Mr. Angad Kalaan from Sahgal Stud – PBG and Mr Manupal Godara from Panasonic adding to the aggressive, excitement and thrill associated with Amity Polo Cup 2012.
The teams of ASC, CAVALRY-USPA, NAVY-MUMBAI POLO, SAHGAL STUD – PBG in Pool A and JINDAL STEEL AND POWER, APRC, CAVALRY-TJP and PANASONIC in Pool B gave a tough competition to each other in the 8 goal competition.
The finals were fought fiercely between PANASONIC Team and CAVALRY -USPA Team.
The game was fast and furious and provided many thrills to the polo aficionados and influential glitterati of the city that thronged the Polo Ground in unprecedented numbers. Basking in the glory of sun, the sports spirit of the players was as high as the leaps of their equestrians, reminding the hooked spectators of high handicap thrilling finals, the quality of polo dished out by the likes of Gaston Moore and Uday Kalaan, matching those in the +5 or +6 handicap class.
PANASONIC team began stronger and in the first chukker overpowered CAVALRY- USPA with 1 ½ goals to 1 Mr Adhiraj Singh struck the first goal for PANASONIC.
The players of PANASONIC team, with a lower rated handicap of 7 goals over 8 goals handicap of CAVALRY- USPA, continued to relentlessly attack the counterparts and scored 3 ½ goals to 1 during the second chukker.
During the third chukker, the game continued in the same vein with youngest player of the tournament, Mr Vishwaraj Singh (-2) striking yet another goal for PANASONIC team and leading the team with 4 ½ goals to 2.
The last and the decisive chukker was fought fiercely but towards the end PANASONIC team prevailed over CAVALRY- USPA and won the cup with 5 ½ goals to 4.
Amity Polo Cup Trophy was presented by Dr. Ashok K. Chauhan, Founder President, Ritnand Balved Education Foundation (Amity) and CEO AKC Group of Companies, Mr. Atul Chauhan- President, R.B.E.F, Dr. (Mrs.) Amita Chauhan- Chairperson, Amity Humanity Foundation and Mrs. Pooja Chauhan- Vice Chairperson, Amity Humanity Foundation and the force behind Amity Polo Cup, under whose guidance and leadership Amity Polo Cup has been organized year after year. The players of winning team also received a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000
Tamero captained by Adhiraj Singh (+2) from PANASONIC team was announced the Best Polo Pony and the award for the Best Polo Player was given to the youngest player, Mr Vishwaraj Singh (-2) from PANASONIC team. The Award included free return trip to Goa for 3 nights and 4 days including airfare, food etc.
Speaking during the occasion Dr. Ashok K. Chauhan applauded the exemplary sportsmanship and teamwork displayed by the players and assured that in future, Amity Group will be organizing more such events to support the underprivileged section of the society so that they can be assimilated in the mainstream of society.
Radiating joy and contentment, Ms. Pooja Chauhan who is an epitome of affection and humility remarked that education is a great enabler and an empowering instrument. It is very important to reach out to the marginalized sections of the society and empower them especially the girl children who still are the victims of gender discrimination. Talking about project Amitasha and how hundreds of underprivileged girl children are nurtured under the project, Mrs. Chauhan, further, said that Amitasha aims to provide fillip to the underprivileged girl child by providing them free of cost education in an unbiased and non- discriminative manner in Amity International Schools spread across Delhi/NCR. She stressed that under Amitasha, Girls are enrolled in the nursery class and conclude their complete study. Over 1500 girls are part of this Amitasha project and 75 girls are inducted every year. Ms. Chauhan shared that recently during the Republic Day Celebrations, Amitasha girls had the golden opportunity to meet and interact with President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil who was greatly impressed with the talent and caliber of Amitasha girls, which motivated her to initiate more such projects aiming to transform the lives of underprivileged children.
Talking about “ ATULASHA” the philanthropic project started by Amity group over an year ago, Mr. Atul Chauhan who conceptualized and initiated this Project “ ATULASHA” shared, “Amity Group is also educating the underprivileged boys free of cost from Nursery onwards in Amity International Schools located in Delhi/ NCR. At present, over 100 boys are enrolled in Nursery onwards who receive free education, books, uniforms and meals under the noble project and this is one of the ways we share the burden of the society.”
The finals were preceded by an Exhibition Match between Axis Bank and AMITY with the stupendous display of acumen, sportsmanship and team work by both teams. Seamless performance by the players of AMITY made them victorious with the score of 5 goals to 3.
The glitterati present during the finals included numerous Diplomats and Socialites such as H E Jan Henderson- High Commissioner, New Zealand High Commission, New Delhi, Dr. Burak Akcapar- Ambassador- Turkish Embassy, H E Nimisha J Madhvani- High Commissioner, Uganda High Commission, Cord Meir – Klodt- Charge de Affaires, Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany, New Delhi, H. E Larbi Moukhariq- Ambassador, Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco, Dr. Ferdinand Maultaschl- Ambassador of Austria, Ms. Shahnaz Hussain- CEO of Shahnaz Herbals Inc, Ms. Pinky Anand- Sr. Advocate, Supreme Court of India and others.
The Sponsors of Amity Polo Cup 2012 included Axis Bank, Frasers Hospitality, Samsung Smartphones, UB Group, Lenovo, Coca Cola, Shaff Broadcst, Alila Diwa Goa, Videocon, Varahi Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Innovate Building Solutions.