From Wednesday, the Jaipur Polo Grounds in the Capital will play host to the sport's national championship — the Indian Open — which also happens to be the oldest trophy in Indian polo. This is the 109th edition of the event, which began a century ago in 1900 in Lucknow. This year, the trophy will be contested between four high-goal squads — Indian Army, Equisport/Rissala and Jindal/Elevation. Over the years, the players who have performed well enough to be memorable are Shamsheer Ali, Adhiraj Singh, Samir Suhag, Satinder Garcha, Abhimanyu Pathak, Manupal Godara, Simran Shergill and Major Ravi Rathore. Italian pro Miguel Saragia will also be among the competitors.

As every polo event begins, the crowds take a while to filter in, and while the opening days may see a trickle, by the time the Sunday final approaches, crowds of people make it a near-impossibility to find a seat on arriving late. Kicking off the proceedings on the opening day will be Equisport/Rissala against Jindal Elevation in the first match of the tournament. The Equisport team consists of Abhimanyu Pathak, Adhiraj Singh, Samir Suhag and Vishal Singh, while Jindal features Satinder Garcha, Shamsheer Ali, Simran Shergill and Miguel Saragia.

Army — the third team — which will play their opening match only on Thursday, has Ravi Rathore, Manupal Godara, Navjit Sandhu and Tarun Sirohi in their ranks.