POLO

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Polo

• Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team

• Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings”

• Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet

• Polo is played professionally in 16 countries

• It was formerly, but is not currently, an Olympic sport

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Origin

• The game first played in Persia (Iran) at dates given from the 5th century BC, or much earlier

• Later on Polo was passed from Persia to other parts of Asia including the Indian subcontinent and china

• The name polo is said to have been derived from the Tibetan word "pulu", meaning ball

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Modern game

• The modern game of polo, though formalized and popularized by the British, is derived from Manipur (now a state in India)

• The first polo club was established in the town of Silchar in Assam, India, in 1834

• The oldest polo ground in the world is the Imphal Polo Ground in Manipur State

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• The oldest royal polo square is the 16th century Gilgit Polo Field, Pakistan.

• The highest polo ground in the world, Shandur, located in district Chitral, Pakistan at 4307m (14,000 ft)

• A traditional polo tournament between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit takes place every year in July

• British settlers in the Argentine pampas started practising it during their free time

• During the early part of the 20th century, polo changed to become a high-speed sport in the United States

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The field

• The playing field is 300 yards long by 160 yards wide, the approximate area of nine American football fields

• Goals are posts which are set eight yards apart, centered at each end of the field

• The surface of a polo field requires careful and constant grounds maintenance to keep the surface in good playing condition

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World Polo championship

• The World Polo Championship is a polo competition between countries

• The event is organized by the sport's governing body, the Federation of International Polo (FIP), and is contested by the men's national teams

• The inaugural tournament was held in 1987, hosted by Argentina, and is now contested every three or four years

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World Championships

• The first FIP World Championship was played in April 1987 in Buenos Aires, Argentina

• In 1989, the second FIP World Championship was played in Berlin, at Maifeld

• FIP World Championship III was played in Santiago, Chile, in 1992

• In 1995, the fourth World Championship was held in Saint Moritz, Switzerland

• In 1998, the fifth World Championship was held at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club in Santa Barbara, California

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• The FIP World Championship VI held in Melbourne, Australia in 2001

• In 2004, the Sixth World Championship was held in Chantilly, France

• The eighth edition of the World Polo Championship took place in Mexico during May 2008

• The ninth edition of the World Polo Championship took place in San Luis Province, Argentina during October 2011 and was won by Argentina

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Teams Participated in

World Championship 2011

Brazil England USA Chile

Mexico Australia Italy Argentina

India Pakistan

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Pakistan

• Polo is also played in Pakistan

• Shandoor polo ground is the world highest polo ground located in district Chitral

• Polo is also played in Gilgit and Skardu.

• On the event of Nouroz polo tournament is occurred within Baltistan and different teams participated in that competition.

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THE END

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