Published: November 2, 2026 at 8:31 am
HPRC Artists completed an unbeaten run through the HPRC Arena Polo Tournament 2026, presented by Inhabit – The Inside Story, with a 14-10 victory over HPRC Tigers in Sunday evening’s Final at the Hyderabad Polo & Riding Club’s arena in Aziznagar, Hyderabad.
Artists led from the first chukker and were never headed, but Tigers made them earn every one of the four chukkers. Arsalan Khan opened with four goals in the first period against three from Chaitania Kumar, and the pattern of the match was set: Artists took each chukker by a single goal, 4–3, 4–3, 3–2, 3–2, and the margin grew by one each time. Chaitania Kumar’s six, with three from Vishal Singh and one from Sri, who came in for Arjun Reddy after the first chukker, kept Tigers within reach throughout; a 10–14 final score flatters neither side, for the game was closer than four goals suggests until Khan’s two late goals in the last chukker settled it.
Night belongs to Artists’ Arsalan Khan
The night belonged to Arsalan Khan. Eleven goals in a four-chukker Final, four in the first, three in each of the last two, took his tournament tally to twenty from three matches, more than any other player managed in the entire competition, and earned him the Most Valuable Player award. Vedanth Lohia and Shehzad Khan added a goal and two respectively for Artists, whose 20–11 pool record and 14–10 Final made them the only team to win every match they played.
Shehzad is Most Promising Young Player
The tournament’s special award for the most promising young player went to Shehzad Alam Khan of HPRC Artists, who scored eight goals across the three matches of his first tournament — two on opening night against Devils, four in the pool decider against Titans, and two in the Final, both in the second chukker when Artists needed to answer a Tigers rally.
Tigers and Artists go unbeaten through the pools and will meet in HPRC Arena Polo final
A product of the club’s training programme, he was one of six first-tournament players on the field this week, alongside Sri, Qutub Ansari, Vamsi, Amogh and Arjun Reddy, and the Committee singled him out as the standard-bearer for the next generation of polo at HPRC.
The Best Polo Pony of the Club award went to Salar, a dark bay owned by HPRC, who carried riders through every evening of the tournament without a step out of place; the award was received by his groom. Mementos were also presented to umpire Surya Bahadur and to commentator and master of ceremonies Saif ur Rehman.
The prize distribution was graced by Dr Ramesh, Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad, as Chief Guest. Gowtham Potru, director (personnel, administration & welfare), Singareni Collieries Company Limited and former collector of Medchal-Malkajgiri; Siraj Attari, vice-president of the Telangana State Equestrian Association; and Ali Khusru Jung Bahadur, a founding member of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Riding Club, who at over eighty-five years of age was given a standing ovation by the gallery.
Winners: HPRC Artists (Arsalan Khan, Vedanth Lohia, Shehzad Khan).
Runners-up: HPRC Tigers (Chaitania Kumar, Vishal Singh, Arjun Reddy, Sri).
Most Valuable Player: Arsalan Khan (HPRC Artists).
Most Promising Young Player: Shehzad Alam Khan (HPRC Artists).
Best Polo Pony of the Club: Salar, dark bay, owned by HPRC.
