- Title: PAKISTAN: PEOPLE GATHER IN THE HINDU KUSH MOUNTAINS TO PLAY MARATHON POLO MATCH
- Date: 17th July 2003
- Summary: SHANDUR PASS, NORTHERN AREAS, PAKISTAN (RECENT) (REUTERS) 1. VARIOUS OF SNOW-CAPPED HINDU KUSH MOUNTAINS 2. BANNER SAYING: "WELCOME TO SHANDUR POLO FESTIVAL" 3. CARS ARRIVING FOR POLO MATCH 4. CAMPS NEAR POLO GROUND 5. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WATCHING POLO MATCH 6. PAKISTAN FLAG FLYING OVER POLO GROUND 7. SPECTATORS SINGING AND BEATING DRUMS 8. MAN PLAYING BAGPIPES 9. POLO PLAYERS ADJUSTING HORSE GEAR 10. POLO PLAYER GETTING ON TO HIS HORSE 11. VARIOUS OF MATCH IN PROGRESS, WITH SPECTATORS CHEERING 12. MORE OF MATCH 13. SPECTATORS 14. VARIOUS OF MATCH 15. SPECTATORS 16. (SOUNDBITE) (English) IQBAL-UD-DIN SAHAR, FORMER POLO PLAYER, SAYING: "Here totally it is played in a free style, where everything is possible, where hooking is possible, where everything is possible." 17. POLO PLAYER 18. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SIKANDER ULMULK, CAPTAIN OF CHITRAL TEAM, SAYING: "There is a big difference. Its absolutely different from the polo that is played in the rest of the world. The main difference being that we play six a side, and in international polo they play four a side. They play four chukkas we play only two; and they play seven minutes one chukka, seven and a half minutes one chukka, we play 25 minutes one chukka. And the main difference is that we've got to finish the whole game, both the chukkas, on one horse. Whereas they can change a horse whenever they want." 20. LOCALS AND TOURISTS WALKING TO POLO GROUND 21. SCENIC SHOT OF WORLD'S HIGHEST POLO GROUND Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 1st August 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: SHANDUR PASS, NORTHERN AREAS, PAKISTAN
- Country: Pakistan
- Reuters ID: LVA5IGEBALRXGF0ZSECSX4QJ5DU8
- Story Text: Once a year, thousands of people from all over
Pakistan gather in the terrain of the spectacular Hindu Kush
mountains to indulge in a unique, Pakistani style polo
marathon.
Some 15,000 people head for the snow-capped mountainous
region of northern Pakistan to watch and play the nation's
most popular sport - polo.
They either drive for long hours on bumpy roads or plod
for days on horseback, but all of them have one destination,
Shandur, an area between the northern Pakistani towns of
Gilgit and Chitral, and at over 12,000 feet (3,700 metres) is
a hotspot for this colonial sport. The area is also the
world's highest polo ground.
In Pakistan, polo is played without rules and at a
blistering pace, suggesting more of a clash of cavalry than a
sport.
Locals believe polo was born in their land and this is
probably one of the reasons it still remains a phenomenon in
Pakistan. Gilgit is home to the famous polo inscription: "Let
other people play at other things, the King of Games is still
the Game of Kings".
The rivalry between players from Gilgit and Chitral dates
back centuries. But formal matches in Shandur were launched
only in the 1920's by the colonial British, and annual matches
for all started about 20 years ago.
The big game is the culmination of a three-day tournament.
The night before, thousands camp out in the cold under the
stars and snow capped peaks, like rival armies awaiting to go
to battle.
As the day dawns and the teams take to the field, drums
beat while the sound of reed pipes echo off the surrounding
mountains.
The outfits might look familiar to those who have watched
the international version of polo played by tycoons and
princes in England's refined Cowdray Park or Ascot. But polo
Shandur-style is an entirely different affair.
Often, spectators become part of the game as they are
forced to scatter when horses and riders plunge into the crowd
or duck as balls fly at full speed.
Horses at Shandur originate from Afghanistan and
Pakistan's Punjab and are known to be the toughest around, but
the roughness of the sport is beginning to take its toll on
the horses.
Riders and horses are sometimes hurt by stray mallets.
This year, one horse has already died on the field during the
second day of play.
Veterinarians explained the horses heart had ruptured due
to over exertion at altitude.
A young spectator had to be taken for medical treatment
after horses charged into the crowd. Several riders have also
been injured during heavy falls.
" Here totally it is played in a free style, where
everything is possible, where hooking is possible, where
everything is possible," chuckled Iqbal-ud-din Sahar, a former
polo player.
It is not surprising then that some at Shandur are a
little disdainful of their polo cousins overseas, who use up
to four horses a game and break every seven-and-a-half
minutes, not 25.
" There is a big difference. It's absolutely different
from the polo that is played in the rest of the world. The
main difference being that we play six a side, and in
international polo they play four a side. They play four
chukkas we play only two; and they play seven minutes one
chukka, seven and a half minutes one chukka, we play 25
minutes one chukka," said Siraj Ulmulk, captain of the Chitral
team.
" And the main difference is that we've got to finish the
whole game, both the chukkas, on one horse whereas they can
change a horse whenever they want," he added.
Sikander says British rules mean only the rich can afford
to play, whereas in Shandur-polo, polo is accessible to the
common man with only one horse.
In the meantime, Shandur will wait hopefully to see if
Britain's most famous polo buff, Prince Charles, accepts an
invitation to visit next year.
A visit by Charles, organisers say, would not only put
their extraordinary tournament on the map but help boost a
local tourism sector badly battered by Pakistan's image as a
dangerous haunt of Islamic extremists.
Meanwhile, for locals this is not just any old game, but
one of consuming honour and pride that will be talked over and
over in the mountain valleys throughout the coming year.
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