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Every year in the month of June,
a Polo festival is organized in Shandur
Pass of Northern Pakistan. The polo
ground present in these passes is
a bit smaller in width than the normal
ones. It is 60 yard by 220 yard in
dimension. The rules of the game which
is played in this part of the world
resemble the traditional ones. After
each successful goal scored, the scorer
is entitled to dictate the continuity
of the game. Shandur Polo festival
celebration has emerged as one of
the popular sporting celebrations
in Pakistan.
There is a famous story, associated
with Shandur Polo Festival. It is
believed that a particular king begged
in front of the almighty to bring
back his missing wife. In return to
this prayer of the king, the god made
a condition that he needs to sacrifice
two of his sons in return. The king
later arrived with the head of two
of his sons and hit them with a polo
stick into an opening inside the mountains.
Every year, six teams (three from
either side of the pass), are invited
to participate in this mega event.
To make the players accustomed with
the playing conditions, small practice
sessions and training games are also
organized every night. With the beginning
of this historical event, more and
more people flock together in large
numbers and enjoy the game. The finals
of this mega event are usually held
on a Sunday, where one team from the
Chitral region and another from the
Gilgit region meet, witnessed by at
least by ten thousand spectators.
The finals of this tournament officially
start soon after the President of
Pakistan declares it open. You can
also witness song and dance performances
just before the onset of the mega
finale. Unlike the original game,
here you find only one timekeeper
as the match official. The games do
start in a cooperative spirit but
in times of extreme competition, players
are also known for throwing their
sticks here and there. There is one
important rule regarding the game
that is followed here. The sticks
should never get inside the legs of
the pony.
However, the road to the tournament
is not that smooth as the tournament
itself is. Every year, several players
as well as spectators have been killed
or severely injured en route to Shandur
Polo celebrations. However, once you
have reached there safely, every moment
that you spend watching the tournament
is worth the difficulties that you
might have come across while coming
to the venue of the Shandur Polo festivities.
For more information on other important
festivals of Pakistan, visit us at
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