SKARDU: Chitral Winds Eagle Team lifted the trophy at the 6th Ali Sher Khan Anchan Polo Tournament after defeating the Chitral-Booni HQ team in a freestyle polo match held at the Maqpoon ground in Skardu.
A total of 20 teams, including 18 from Gilgit-Baltistan, participated in the tournament, but both finalists were from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral. For the final contest, the polo ground was packed with thousands of fans, including tourists from Pakistan and abroad.
Mohammad Sohail, a player of Chitral Winds Eagle, said the team enjoyed the final match a lot in Skardu. He said that locals supported the polo players without discrimination, while the organisers provided all facilities to the visiting teams.
Player Mohammad Illyas of the Chitral-Booni team, whose team lost the final, appreciated the organisers, fans and supporters.
Ali Abbas, a polo fan, told Dawn that it was disappointing that GB teams had failed to qualify for the final, but the performance of both Chitral teams won over the crowd. He said that polo was still a popular game that attracts large crowds.
Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was also present at the match. Mr Abbasi said international polo was different, with specific rules, but freestyle polo was a unique game that was native to this region. A tourist from Poland described the high-energy contest as “crazy and amazing”.
Besides the final match, tug-of-war competitions were also held featuring local players.
The tournament, organised by the Skardu district administration along with the GB Polo Association and the tourism department, concluded with a trophy and prize distribution ceremony.
Published in Dawn