Ezra Cup
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The Ezra Cup is a popular
polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...
tournament conducted annually in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
by the
Calcutta Polo Club Calcutta Polo Club is a polo club located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in 1862 and is considered to be the world's oldest operational polo club. History The modern game of polo, though formalised and popularised by the ...
. It is claimed The Ezra Cup was first held in 1880. After a period of inactivity, it has now been revived by Keshav Bangur, Calcutta Polo Club's president.


Keshav Bangur's patronage

Ezra Cup is named after David Elias Ezra, a leading Jewish business tycoon in
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
who patronized the sport in the city. As part of its 150 years celebration, the Calcutta Polo Club organized Ezra World Cup at the Pat Williamson Ground,
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
from 18–25 December 2011. It has been doing so since 2006 when polo was revived in Kolkata by Calcutta Polo Club president Keshav Bangur. After years of neglect the Calcutta Polo Club was put in cold storage by the army in 1998 through a resolution and the season was revived in 2006, at the initiative of Keshav Bangur. "We are happy that the army is cooperating with us to make the season a success now, and hope to get their continued support going forward," said Keshav Bangur, CPC's current president.


Revival

Despite the claimed legacy of being the world's oldest polo club, the Calcutta Polo Club almost disappeared before being revived by Keshav Bangur. In 2006, after almost a
decade A decade (from , , ) is a period of 10 years. Decades may describe any 10-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement ...
of inactivity, the first tournament was held. In 2011, teams from
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, the
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,
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,
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and
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
competed for the Ezra Cup. "Time was when major-generals and personages in high political office stood up in the grandstand waving their hats and shouting themselves hoarse, as the women, resplendent in their silk finery, screamed during a hearty game of polo on the Pat Williamson Ground at Calcutta’s race course." Polo can no longer look to its royal patrons for support, says Keshav Bangur. "It’s beyond the means of most of these estates to back the sport." The sport has found new patrons, though, according to Gaj Singh. "Availability of grounds is the biggest problem facing Indian polo," says Singh—not lack of patronage. Besides companies such as Keshav Bangur’s BFL Corporation Limited,
Naveen Jindal Naveen Jindal (born 9 March 1970) is an Indian industrialist, politician, and philanthropist. He is the Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power and serves as the Founding Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University. He represents the Kurukshetra ...
’s
Jindal Steel and Power Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) is an Indian steel company based in New Delhi. JSPL is a part of OP Jindal Group. In terms of tonnage, it is the third-largest private steel producer in India and the only private player in India to produ ...
Limited and Sunjay Kapur’s Sona Koyo Steering Systems Limited, which have fielded and backed polo teams, the sport has had a lot of support from the army.
Carlos Gracida Carlos Gracida (September 5, 1960 – February 25, 2014) was a Mexican-American polo player. He reached a 10-goal handicap at the age of 25. Biography Gracida was born in Mexico City. As a product of the Gracida polo dynasty, Ca ...
, captain of the team from the US, suggests a scope for revival. He says that in
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, the country prominent in the world of polo, the sport has become popular among the masses to a great extent. "The young in Argentina are drawn to the sport because they can make a living out of it," says Gracida.


2011 winners

The local side, Calcutta Polo Club emerged as the champion of the BFL Corp Ezra World Cup 2011, defeating the team from Italy,
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, by 6 goals to 4.5. Starting with an advantage of 0.5 goals, Rome began well but failed to sustain the tempo against CPC, which played a fluent and effective game. George Meyrick led the scoring for CPC with three goals. Major Vishal Chauhan added a brace while Colonel Tarun Sirohi scored the solitary field goal. For Rome, Gofferdo C. Rendina scored two and Santiago Buzzi scored a brace. Earlier, Rome qualified for the final by defeating what was arguably the best team of the tournament, Carnoustie of the US, by a narrow margin of 0.5 goal. The final score read 5.5 to 5 goals in favour of Rome. The spectators witnessed great heroics by Carlos Gracida, perhaps the highest handicap player in the world. Playing for Carnoustie, he scored all the five goals. For Rome, which enjoyed a 0.5-goal handicap, Boris Bignoli got one and Gofferdo C. Rendina scored the rest.The tournament also had a team from Indonesia called Nausantara. It failed to make an impact on the meet while the other Indian team, Army Polo Riding Club, caused a few surprises before bowing out.


2011 celebrations

The grand finale of the seven-day celebration of BFL Corp Ezra World Cup 2011 was staged at the Pat Williamson ground. On 25 December, the players from
Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...
, with a traditional Manipuri Polo Match, gave the spectators a glimpse of history. The army band gave a performance of flute, pipes and drums. The CPC, headed by its president, Keshav Bangur, commented on organising the event. "It's a moment of pride for me and the committee members to have hosted the Ezra Cup and to have brought the world of polo population together to this magnificent venue. We had a terrific tournament and the game was celebrated in its full glory. This is just the beginning of the celebration of the 150th year of the club and I feel very happy and proud to have led the show along with the relentless support of the Indian Polo Association and the Indian Army. I wish to encourage young players in the city to actively participate and join this game," The event saw performances by
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and fire dancers, who were flown in from different parts of the country. The event saw polo celebrities like Colquhoun-Denvers and international players like George Meurick, Gabriel Nicolas Curto, Carlos Gracida and Goffredo C Rendina, amongst others.


Calcutta Polo Club

A press report commented, "The current club membership is about 200, with members from the business and royal families of Cooch Behar, Burdwan, Darbhanga and the illustrious Mullickbari of north Kolkata. Pat Williamson Polo Ground in Kolkata overlooks the
Victoria Memorial The Victoria Memorial is a large marble monument in the Maidan in Central Kolkata (Calcutta), having its entrance on the Queen's Way. It was built between 1906 and 1921 by the British Raj. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, the ...
and has seen polo stalwarts like
Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...
Sawai Man Singh of
Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
and Maharaj Prem Singh. The legendary
Gayatri Devi Gayatri Devi (born Princess Gayatri Devi of Cooch Behar; 23 May 1919 − 29 July 2009) was the third Maharani consort of Jaipur from 1940 to 1949 through her marriage to Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. Following her husband's signature for the ...
, the princess of
Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (), also known as Koch Bihar, is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal and it stands on bank of the Torsa river. The city is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. During the British Raj, Cooch Behar was the seat of the ...
, fell in love with her future husband Sawai Man Singh at this polo ground." Two British soldiers, Robert Stewart and Joe Shearer, saw a game called sagol kangjei played by locals on horses in Manipur. Impressed by this game, the soldiers introduced it to their peers in Kolkata and in 1862, the Calcutta Polo Club was founded with the subsequent creation of a new format. The club stable for horses is near the second Hooghly Bridge. The Indian Army continues to support the club, allowing it to use the Pat Williamson Polo Ground, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command. Earlier, most of the key players, like Maharaj Prem Singh, a seven-handicapper, and Col Kishen Singh, a six-handicapper, were based in Kolkata and other leading players from elsewhere rallied round them. As part of the 2011 Ezra Cup, a History Gallery was opened at the Pat Williamson Ground, and a coffee table book was released that showcases the history and heritage of the Calcutta Polo Club.


References

{{reflist Polo competitions Polo in India Sports competitions in Kolkata Recurring sporting events established in 1880 1880 establishments in India