Polo is probably the oldest recorded game in the world; the Persian poet Hrdausi, described a match between the Persians and the Turkomans about 600 B.C. At Isfahan are the ruins of a very ancient polo ground with stone goal posts 8 yards apart and the ground 300 yards long, the correct measurements of a ground today. The name 'Polo' came from 'Pulu', the willow root from which polo balls were made in Tibet. Slowly the game spread over Asia, even to China, Japan and India. It was played in the nineteenth century in themountainous northern region of India.

The first club,The Silchar Polo Club, in Cachar, was formed in 1859 by soldiers and tea planters. They played the game with the Manipuris, who have played for hundreds of years. By 1862 The Calcutta Polo Club was formed and the game spread rapidly all over India and throughout the Army.