Three-day Shandur Polo Festival starts

CHITRAL: The three-day free style Shandur Polo Festival got underway at the world's highest polo ground (12,200ft) on Friday. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Secretary Tourism Tahir Orakzai inaugurated the festival after Chief Minister Mahmood postponed his visit apparently due to inclement weather.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority Director General Mohammad Abid Khan, officials from the Headquarters 11th Corps Peshawar, Frontier Corps North, district administration Upper Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan attended the ceremony.

The festival could not be held for two years due to the Covid-19 related restrictions. Speaking on the occasion as chief guest, Secretary Tourism Tahir Orakzai said that the polo festival was being held after two years due to the efforts of the provincial government.

He said that the Shandur Polo Festival would help promote tourism in the province. Earlier, in the first match of the tournament, Laspur of Chitral defeated Ghizer district of GB by 15 to 4 goals. In the second match, Gilgit D beat Chitral D by 6 to 4 goals. In the third hotly contested match, Subdivision Mastuj (Chitral) trounced Subdivision Yaseen (GB) by 7 to 6 goals.