Chitral lifts Shandur polo trophy in thrilling final

SHANDUR: Chitral A trounced Gilgit-Baltistan A in a thrilling contest of free-style polo final at the world’s highest venue as the three-day festival concluded here on Sunday.

The final match started at the jam-packed polo ground, situated at an altitude of 12,500 feet, with apparent domination of young GB players who managed to score goals in quick succession. However, the experienced Chitral A players kept their nerves and the score was 5 -7 at the end of the first half.

And it was anybody’s game by then amid mounting pressure of unending sloganeering by the charged supporters of the both teams.

The second half also witnessed a fast game as both the teams scored goals amidst some controversial decisions. At the near-end of the game, it was 9-9 when Izhal Ali of Chitral A showed his brilliance and scored an unbelievable goal just before the final whistle.

And the match ended with Chitral A beating GB A by 10-9. It was eight consecutive wins for Chitral at Shandur as the festival could not be held for two years due to the Covid-19 related restrictions.

“It was a team effort. I knew we were going to win despite the brilliance of Gilgit players,” said Shahzada Sikandar, captain of Chitral team.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Secretary Tourism Tahir Orakzai had inaugurated the festival.

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.

Meanwhile, the tourists suffered a lot due to closure of roads due to flash floods in different streams. They asked the government to make proper arrangements to facilitate people in reaching Shandur.

“I have been visiting Shandur for the last many years but the roads leading to the venue are still in a dilapidated condition,” said Arshad Khan, adding, “I don’t know why the government is not building bridges on the streams to avoid inconvenience to the tourists and locals,” he asked.

Hundreds of tourists were seen stranded on both sides of the stream.

“It shows the apathy of the department concerned that they are least bothered to promote tourism,” said one of the stranded tourists from Lahore.