PBG-Udar’s opening-season victory has given Delhi’s 2026 fall polo season an early boost as the President’s Bodyguard set the stage for the President’s Polo Cup in late November. Meanwhile, the IPA’s Jai Shergill invites Delhi to come and watch polo at its new home
On Sunday, October 18, the first silverware of Delhi’s Fall Polo Season 2026 went to a side that married a cavalry regiment’s discipline with the savvy of seasoned civilian players.
PBG-Udar, captained by Deepak Udar, beat Thunderbolts in the final of the Baroda Cup (8-goal) at the Army Equestrian Centre (AEC) in Delhi Cantt, handing the President’s Bodyguard (PBG) an 8-goal trophy the regiment had not lifted in a couple of decades.
The winning line-up read Dafadar Sukhjeet Singh of the PBG, United Kingdom polo player Fred Thame, Indian international polo player Hurr Ali, Colonel Amit Berwal, Commandant of the PBG, and Udar himself.
Thunderbolts, a side of Army officers, fielded Lieutenant Colonel Vishal Chauhan, Major Raghav Raj Singh, Major Anant Rajpurohit and Major Anmol Rattan Singh Warraich. The tournament was played under the patronage of HH Princess Asharaje Gaekwad.
HH Princess Asharaje Gaekwad presents the Baroda Cup trophy to the winning PBG-Udar team at the Army Polo and Riding Centre ground in Delhi Cantonment on October 18, 2026. Anmol Singla/Firstpost
For Berwal, who both commands the PBG and plays for it, the win was about more than the scoreline. “Our thoroughbreds have given us rich dividends today on this field,” he told Firstpost in an interview.
“And we have lifted an 8-goal trophy after a couple of decades. So that speaks for itself.”
More from SportsA season with a new home base
The Baroda Cup opened a campaign that runs from October 12 to November 29 in Delhi.
The Delhi Fall Polo Season 2026 is organised by the Army Polo and Riding Centre (APRC), New Delhi, under the Indian Polo Association (IPA), the sport’s national governing body, and is being played at the AEC and other grounds across Delhi NCR like the Jindal Polo Estate in Noida.
It is the capital’s chapter of the 2026-27 Indian polo season, which began in August. The 2-goal APRC Cup has also been running alongside the Baroda Cup, with its final due on Saturday, October 24.
Lieutenant Colonel Vishal Chauhan, playing for the Thunderbolts, is introduced to the spectators ahead of the final of the Baroda Cup at the Army Polo and Riding Centre ground in Delhi Cantonment on October 18, 2026. Anmol Singla/Firstpost
It is also the first Delhi fall season since the closure of the Jaipur Polo Ground (JPG) in the Race Course area.
Built on land gifted by the Maharaja of Jaipur in the 1930s, the 15.20-acre ground was the subject of an eviction order issued by the Centre in May earlier this year, which cited a larger public purpose and benefit.
Land and Development Office officials took physical possession in June after the courts declined the IPA interim relief. The association has contested the eviction in the sessions court and the Delhi High Court.
The last match played at the ground, on March 29, was between Jindal Panthers and Jaipur Achievers.
Berwal did not hide what the ground meant. “JPG is the heritage of Indian Polo. Obviously the first response is that of a great sadness and as a polo player and a horse lover we would have sort of loved if the same arrangement could have continued,” he said.
The Baroda Cup trophy can be seen on display ahead of the final match at the Army Polo and Riding Centre ground in Delhi Cantonment on October 18, 2026. Anmol Singla/Firstpost
His comments reflect the significance of polo beyond competition. The sport is closely linked to India’s cavalry traditions, its equestrian culture and its sporting history.
The Commandant framed it as a matter of duty. “As far as the Bodyguard is concerned we are duty bound to put shoulder to the wheel as far as polo and equestrian heritage of our country is concerned. We need to keep it alive.”
“And now we need to pursue the game.”
That pursuit has meant a summer of hard work in the Cantonment. Jai Shergill, a former player, IPA Executive Committee member and the Delhi steward from the APRC, points out that the capital’s polo never depended on one venue alone.
The grandstand fills ahead of the final of the Baroda Cup at the Army Polo and Riding Centre ground in Delhi Cantonment on October 18, 2026. Anmol Singla/Firstpost
“Jaipur Polo ground, we used that ground only for the semi-finals and the finals. So, all the preliminary matches happened here,” he told Firstpost. “Yes, we have taken a bit of a hit regarding Jaipur Polo Ground, but a lot of work has gone in the entire summer.”
Shergill credited the Army for the heavy lifting. “That’s the 61 Cavalry, the Quartermaster Branch, the Indian Army and all the men who have been working here have done a phenomenal job of relaying the ground, relaying the second ground which is there,” he said.
“And this is our first season, our first cup. And as you see, over time, it will get better and better.”
The Cantonment is a natural home for the effort. The IPA is headquartered with the 61 Cavalry, one of the Army’s mounted regiments, which carries out most of the association’s major activities.
Polo players from PBG-Udar & Thunderbolts, and their ponies can be seen during the final of the Baroda Cup at the Army Polo and Riding Centre ground in Delhi Cantonment on October 18, 2026. Anmol Singla/Firstpost
Last year’s fall season was split between the JPG and the AEC, a division that now gives way to a single base.
Crowds, access and the night-polo question
The obvious question about an Army cantonment is access. Asked how a final-day crowd of 400 to 500 would be handled, Shergill was categorical.
“There is no issue. I have said it before. This is open to all. And foreigners are here, expats, all of them. We have no issues. And in fact, this is easier for us to accommodate people here,” he said.
“Crowd control is not a problem. But I have said it many times to all of Delhi, please come and watch polo. We can control the crowds. We have no issues. Gates are open. So please do come.”
Polo players from PBG-Udar & Thunderbolts, and their ponies can be seen in a melee during the final of the Baroda Cup at the Army Polo and Riding Centre ground in Delhi Cantonment on October 18, 2026. Anmol Singla/Firstpost
The other question is how to widen the audience. In Jaipur, stakeholders have told Firstpost, night polo has become a major tourist attraction with Rajasthan Tourism behind it.
Shergill sees merit in it, though not necessarily as a template for the capital.
“Well, night polo, to my mind, yes, it’s a good thing for Jaipur. But I feel in the long run, it is only played in a very few countries. They play night polo, mostly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. But for regular mainstream polo, yes, this is good polo [day-time],” he said.
He did not rule out change, however, “But in the long run, to attract a good crowd, you never know, we might even have lights here in time to come.”
Polo has a long history in India, but opportunities to watch top-level matches are not as widely integrated into mainstream sporting culture as those for more popular spectator sports.
Playing for PBG-Udar, Hurr Ali (left), Fred Thame and their ponies, pose for a photo for Firspost during the half-time of the final of the Baroda Cup at the Army Polo and Riding Centre ground in Delhi Cantonment on October 18, 2026. Anmol Singla/Firstpost
Opening the gates to more people helps familiarise new audiences with the game’s speed, horsemanship and tactical demands.
The PBG’s plans
The PBG is no ordinary polo side. Raised in 1773 at Benares, it is the senior-most regiment of the Indian Army, and polo is only one of its duties.
“The President’s Bodyguard is an active army unit which is in express service of the honourable President,” Berwal said. “We do ceremony duties for the honourable President during the peacetime. We end up doing about 140 contacts with Rashtrapati Bhavan in the year.”
That ceremonial role is also the route through which the regiment gives back to the sport. The President’s Polo Cup was established in 1975 as an open tournament and was discontinued in 2005, after the IPA’s administration moved from the PBG to the 61 Cavalry.
It returned as an exhibition match at the PBG polo ground in March 2013 and has been an annual fixture since. Last year’s edition was played on November 29 in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu.
The pipes & drums band from the Kumaon Regiment welcome the spectators before the introduction of the polo players ahead of the final of the Baroda Cup at the Army Polo and Riding Centre ground in Delhi Cantonment on October 18, 2026. Anmol Singla/Firstpost
This year’s is already on the calendar.
“And every year as part of the presidential outreach we hold the President’s Cup Polo Exhibition Match where we exhibit the best talent in the country,” Berwal said.
“And as part of that same mechanism this year again late November we will be organising the President’s Polo Cup.”
Winning cups, though, takes strength in depth, and the PBG has chosen to partner rather than go alone, especially in high-goal tournaments. “Army teams are permitted in high-goal tournaments to combine with the talent available in the country.”
In a niche sport, Berwal, explained, “senior players that are high handicappers sort of blend themselves in the role of a teacher-tutor.”
The arrangement, he said, suits a regiment in the middle of a revival. “We have revived polo at the Bodyguard and we are at a stage where we need the experience of these senior players. We are benefiting from their rich experience and our younger players are becoming more daring. They are becoming more technical.”
The horses matter as much as the riders. “We procured thoroughbreds last year as part of the push which the Army is giving towards improving polo. And we put those thoroughbreds to work over the last one and a half years.”
The regiment’s own talent is part of the story too. Berwal described Gurdaspur-born Dafadar Sukhjeet Singh as a prime example of how soldiers should be nurtured.
“He is an ace bodyguard. He is a paratrooper,” the Commandant said.
Dafadar Sukhjeet Singh of the President’s Bodyguard is introduced to the spectators ahead of the final of the Baroda Cup at the Army Polo and Riding Centre ground in Delhi Cantonment on October 18, 2026. Anmol Singla/Firstpost
“He does all parades for the honourable President and yet he dedicates himself to polo. He is one of the rare Polo trainers who excel in training, even with thoroughbreds. We have got him trained in South Africa as part of the Army Team Green.”
Berwal said he was proud that Sukhjeet Singh “is a Bodyguard and he is playing for the Indian Army.”
The calendar ahead in Delhi
The rest of the schedule is crowded.
After the APRC Cup final on Saturday, October 24, the Bhopal-Pataudi Cup (8-goal) wraps up its preliminaries, with a final on Sunday, October 25.
Two fixtures then overlap in late October, namely, the Royal Koas Polo Cup (8-goal), with preliminaries the final on November 1, and the Baria Cup (4-goal), which culminates on November 6.
The marquee event is the Indian Masters (14-goal), with preliminaries from November 2 to 6 and the final on November 7.
Mid-November brings the DGST Trophy (6-goal), with its final on November 15, alongside the Field Marshal Cariappa Cup (Out of Hat, 2-goal), with a final on November 21.
The Habanos Cavalry Gold Cup (8-goal) follows, with preliminaries from November 16 to 20, and the final on November 22.
The main slate closes with the QMG Polo Championship (4-goal), with the final on November 29. The Northern India Junior Polo Cup (2-goal) will also be held this season, with its dates yet to be decided.
For a city that lost its best-known polo address, the message from the Delhi Cantt is a steady one: the game goes on and the gates are open for anyone who is ready to fall in love with the Indian sport of modern polo.
The KogniVera International Polo Cup trophy for the India vs Argentina match is displayed at the Jaipur Polo Ground, in New Delhi, India, on October 25, 2025. Anmol Singla/Firstpost
Firstpost has been extensively following the Indian sport of modern polo and has resumed its coverage for the 2026-27 Indian Polo Season which is currently running from September 2026 to April 2027.