Mon, Sep 22, 2003 page5

• `Ladyboys' add twist to elephant polo tournament

  • AP
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  With her hair pulled back, eyebrows plucked and a fresh dusting of makeup, Phruts Phungsai put down her glossy fashion magazine, climbed atop an elephant and clasped a bamboo mallet, ready for battle.

  It was the 22-year-old clothing designer's first time playing elephant polo -- a quirky sport modeled after the game traditionally played on horseback that has emerged as a tourist attraction here in recent years.

  But Phruts' physique gave her what some opponents called an unfair advantage -- she was once a man.

  According to the rules of elephant polo, which was invented in Nepal more than two decades ago by a British expatriate, female players are allowed to put both hands on the 2m-long club used to whack a small white ball across the field. Their male counterparts, however, may use only one.

  "It's fair because my body is like that of a woman," said the willowy transsexual from Bangkok. "I have small hands, a small body and not much muscle. I look like a woman, so why can't I use two hands?"

  Despite the friendly squabbling over rules, Phruts took to the field with her team -- the Screwless Tuskers -- for their debut match in the King's Cup 2003 tournament.

  Chivas Regal is a major sponsor of the event, fielding its own team, while 10 other teams are backed by multinational corporations and local businesses.

  The Screwless Tuskers, however, are an independent team organized by Alf Erickson, a retired lawyer from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who settled in the Thai capital four years ago.

  Erickson says he invited Phruts and three other "ladyboys" -- transsexuals or transvestites -- to join the team to bring something "extremely exotic" to this year's week-long tournament that ended yesterday.

  "I told them, the thing is not how well you play, it's how well you look, and that made them happy," Erickson said. "You know, they're girls, in a way."

  Despite being a conservative Buddhist society, Thailand is one of the most tolerant countries in Asia in its attitude toward gays and transvestites. Katoeys, as ladyboys are called, have featured in Thai films as conquering kickboxers and victorious volleyball players.

  Wearing matching pink jerseys, the Tuskers face tough competition. Among the 12 teams competing in the event are players from Australia, Britain, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

  But instead of riding fleet-footed horses, the players -- three per team -- marshal lumbering elephants on the field during 30-minute matches.

  Twenty-two Asian elephants from Hua Hin and the northern Thai provinces of Lampang and Surin are participating in the event. The animals are fed a total of 7 tonnes of pineapple tops, bananas, watermelons and vitamins daily.

  The institute will receive an estimated 1.5 million baht (US$35,700) in proceeds from a dinner and auction during the event, which was adapted from tournaments played in Nepal and organized by Jim Edwards, a British expatriate.

  "We never thought we'd get past our own amusement level, but now it's developed a following from all over the world," said Edwards, who runs an elephant trekking firm in Nepa.

  "Here [horse polo] is just really a lot of fun because you're only as good as your elephant. If your elephant is slow, you're slow."

  Elephant polo players not only rely on their 2-tonne mounts, but also on mahouts -- or elephant handlers -- who sit astride the elephant's neck and give commands.

  Nopdol Nandabhiwat, a 44-year-old Thai on a team backed by American Express, said the prospect of playing against the Screwless Tuskers "could be scary."

  "They are allowed to use two hands, which helps a lot," he said. "If they're really men, it's an advantage because they're quite strong."
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