Elephants and dignitaries have always gone hand in hand in the East from ancient times. So it was perhaps natural that the prime minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, should take time off his busy calendar to watch the age-old sport of elephant polo being played on the beaches of southern Sri Lanka. 'It was a special day. They were celebrating the one-year ceasefire anniversary with the Tamil Tigers and there was a large crowd watching us. And the prime minister made the presentation. It was great,' recounted Chris Botsford, captain of Hong Kong team, Loxondontals Tools, at the annual tournament in Taprobane featuring eight teams from Europe and Asia. Hong Kong, represented by Botsford, Tim Jacobson, Bruce Walker and Robert Appleby won the Bowl competition at the one-day event held on February 22. Walker (pictured right) scored the winning goal in a 2-1 semi-final win over Singapore's Tickle the Ivories team. But in the final, Hong Kong were beaten by Eliphinos Sri Lanka 5-1. The cup final was won by home side Taprobane Sri Lanka - captained by tournament host and part-time Hong Kong resident Geoffrey Dobbs - who beat reigning world champions Chivas Regal Scotland 3-2. 'It's becoming so popular,' he said. Popular enough for the prime minister of the cricket-mad country, and whose political party has an elephant as its symbol, to make a brief visit.
