Polo match draws great crowd in Silchar

SILCHAR, Nov 19 - Glimpses of modern version of Polo, the game which began here in Silchar back in 1859 were relived with great joy by thousands of people on Sunday. As a part of the ongoing Namami Barak festival, an exhibition match was played between Team Barak and Team Sangai, with players and horses coming from Manipur at the Gandhi Mela field. Even as the ground conditions were far beyond suitable for the movement of the horses, the match was played in true spirit and Team Barak defeated Team Sangai by 6-4 goals.

Cachar Deputy Commissioner Dr S Laxmanan along with Additional SP Cachar Dr Ramandeep Kaur Borkhola, MLA Kishore Nath who is also the chairman of sports committee of the event watched the match along with Katigorah MLA Amar Chand Jain, Sarath Chandra Singha, the president of the All Manipur Polo Association among others.

The Cachar Deputy Commissioner congratulated the participating teams and expressed satisfaction to host the match alongside the mega river festival.

Sarath Chandra Singha said, “The match was played with four players per side and as per the rules of the Indian Polo Association. The first European Polo Club was established here by the British and the modern format of competitive polo was played here between teams from Manipur. It is good to be back with the game to the place of origin,” Singha said.