Royal Pahang Polo Club To Celebrate Centenary With Two Major Tournaments

KUANTAN, June 12 (Bernama) -- Two major tournaments, the Royal Pahang Classic Centenary Cup and the Tengku Ampuan Patrons Cup, will be the highlight of the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Royal Pahang Polo Club (RPPC).

Tengku Panglima Raja Brig Gen Tengku Amir Nasser Ibrahim Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah said the tournaments would be further boosted by the participation of polo teams from overseas.

“InsyaAllah, we will have eight teams for the Centenary Cup, and eight or 10 teams for the Tengku Ampuan Cup,” he told reporters after officiating the launch of RPC’s 100th anniversary celebration at the East Coast Mall (ECM) here today.

Also in attendance was Tengku Panglima Perang Tengku Ahmad Ismail Mu’adzam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah.

The preliminary rounds will begin on Sept 7 at the RPPC in Pekan, with the main tournament set to be on Sept 25-26.

Meanwhile, Tengku Amir Nasser expressed hope that the sport’s legacy would be carried on by future generations.

In conjunction with the centenary celebration, RPPC is opening its history and heritage to Malaysians through an interactive exhibition featuring archival photographs and historical artefacts that trace the evolution of polo in Pahang over the past century.

After the event at ECM, the programme will continue at the Kuantan Festival 188 from July 31 to Aug 2, followed by the Centenary Exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) throughout August.

According to a statement distributed at the event, the club’s establishment can be traced to a royal gesture of friendship when Sultan Iskandar of Perak presented several polo horses to Sultan Abu Bakar of Pahang in conjunction with the wedding of Sultan Iskandar’s princess.

The gift sparked interest in polo and eventually led to the establishment of the club by Sultan Abu Bakar in 1926.

The RPPC is one of only four polo clubs in Malaysia to have reached its centenary and is one of the oldest polo clubs in the world, having remained in continuous operation since the 1920s.

-- BERNAMA