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June 1, 2006
Revival of polo in Karachi
Traditionally polo is played on turf, but due to the unavailability of a proper field, the polo team of Karachi–– adamant to continue the sport –– started playing on the Clifton beach and eventually trained their horses to work miracles on the slippery sand, writes Sonya Battla
Sitting on the Clifton beach a couple of weekends ago one was treated to the rare sight of mallets, helmets, referees, horses from chestnut to grey, bay to brown, players and their calls of ‘take the shot’ to each other. The adrenalin rush –– a usual for a polo match in progress was a rare treat for Karachiites.
The Karachi Polo Club (KPC) came into existence around 1955 and is an internationally registered and recognised body that was very active until the early eighties. Since then it has been dormant. Although players from Karachi have formed their own team and have been playing the polo circuit in Lahore every season for almost five years now, the efforts have largely been on a private scale where a group of friends who play polo together have created a team.
This year the group took a huge step forward when they organised a polo tournament, which was graced by the city’s Naib Nazim and the Consul General of the UAE as guest of honour, and other prominent Karachiites.
Under the guidance of the veteran Jaja Mian (Faqir Mian Aitzazuddin) the current president of the KPC, and obviously inspired by the brilliantly organised Lahore Polo Club, the members have taken upon themselves to finally put Karachi back on the map of international polo. After all, this is very much the city’s sport with its origins not far from here. ‘Changar’ an ancient form of polo was played in Persia and China almost 2500 years ago and the name polo actually is a derivation from the Tibetan word ‘pulu’ meaning ball. In its rough form it is still played in Shandur and is the pride of our Northern Areas. The Shandur polo ground also happens to be the highest in the world.Karachi’s contribution to polo is unique. Traditionally, polo is played on turf, but due to circumstances where no field was available, this determined group –– adamant to continue the sport –– started playing on the Clifton beach and eventually trained their horses to work miracles on the slippery sand. They had to study the low and high tides to determine the days when the water would recede to give them ample room to play. All these efforts paid off, not only do they play on the beach regularly now; the venue also hosted the recent tournament.
The polo season commences in October and ends in March in polo stations like Rawalpindi and Lahore. In Karachi the summer months can also be utilised as the sea breeze constantly cools the horses. In recent years players from Multan, Rawalpindi and Lahore have come down to Karachi to continue their game through the summers.
A major contribution of Karachi to the worldwide polo circuit is the making of excellent players. To name a couple, Sattar Khan Niazi, a six-goal handicap is a born and bred Karachiite and is currently heading the Singapore National Polo Team. Hamid Ali, a five-goal handicap plays for the Windsor Guards Polo Club, rubbing shoulders with royalty and often playing for the UAE also.
Polo is the fastest paced sport in the world and an entire game (divided over four chukkas or rounds) is often played at full gallop. For this the players and even more the ponies, need to be in top form. By definition polo horses are high maintenance, but that does not classify the sport as elitist as is often perceived. As Michael Schumacher does not need to own the Ferrari he races in F1, so a professional player need not maintain his personal string of horses. Today, private companies alongside multinational companies maintain teams and a Pakistani player can easily make over $1000 a week by playing for these companies, irrespective of the outcome of the match.
It is the Argentinians who are the reigning kings of polo, and luckily Jose Scheravas and Jose Araja (seven and eight goalers) spent a whole season at the Lahore Polo Club; over from next door India, Vishal Singh (six goal) and Drupal Godara (five goal) were also in the city, which provided the Pakistanis an excellent opportunity to practice their game and raise their bar.
Due to the international players coming to the country, the playing facilities have been organised and upgraded to an international level. The importance of playing the international circuit cannot be underestimated, and the Karachi players are trying to organise a visit by the UAE team sometime soon.The most prominent Karachi players like Kashif Jamal, K. Nisar, Shiraz Q , Sami Ibrahim, Shahid Hayat, Irfan Shaikh and Ahsan are a driven team who are determined to revive traditional polo. The CDGK has allotted the KPC a plot recently, however, no work towards developing this has commenced as yet. In the words of Kashif Jamal (two goal handicap player), “Polo is about talent and passion, combined with a fit body, it’s a winning combination.” His words ring true when it comes to the efforts of the current KPC members towards reviving polo in Karachi and allowing Karachi its rightful place on the map of the polo world.
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