Chitral claim Polo honours at Shandur

Chitral -- Chitral team beat Gilgit Baltistan team 10-5 to lift the Shandur Polo cup 2012. For Chitral it was a sweet revenge of last years defeat at the hands of the GB team. Captain of Chitral team Shahzada Sikander Ul Mulk showed his prowess as a mature player and an able captain and was at his best during the match. The TV commentator time and again exclaimed that out of the 10 Chitral goals scored, each had a direct contribution from the Captain. The jury however awarded the best player award to Shahzad Ahmad another brilliant Chitral player.

The match which was telecast live on PTV was a treat to watch. It was observed that Chitral team players were wearing protective helmets, while GB team was playing bare headed. Also it was observed that four members of Chitral team belonged to the Chitral Scouts one to the border police and only the Captain Sikander UL Mulk was a civilian financing his horse and himself on his own. On the Gilgit side all players belonged to the NLI, which shows how difficult it has become to sustain the game without support of the armed forces.

During the half time recess when VIPs deliver their speeches, spectators shouted 'shame' when the KP tourism minister Aaqil Shah during his speech said that for the past five years Prime Minister is being invited but each time he cancels his program at the last moment. Governor GB and CM GB also attended the final match, besides senior military officials.

Paragliders also showed their skill during the festival and many foreigners managed to turn up despite the tough security restrictions. It was also observed that uniformed and un-uniformed security personal matched the spectators in numbers at a raw count.  

-- CN report, 09 July 2012.(photo earlier Shandur Polo, from the net )

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