11th Manipur Polo International to begin today
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, November 21 2017:
The 11 th Manipur Polo International, 2017 tournament will kick off tomorrow at Imphal Pologround/ Mapal Kangjeibung, the oldest polo ground in the world.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh, will inaugurate the tournament which will conclude on November 29.Letpao Haokip, Youth Affairs and Sports Minister, N Kayishi, Tribal Affairs Minister, T Thanjalan Haokip, Chairman Hill Area Committee will grace the inaugural function as guests.
The final day will be graced by Dr Najma Heptulla, Governor of Manipur.
Altogether six teams, Argentina, England, Morocco, USA, India-A(IPA) and In-dia-B (Manipur) will be participating in the tournament.
Argentina and Morocco will be participating for the first time in this international tournament.
The six teams are divided into two groups, India (B) Manipur, Morocco and England in the Group A while USA, Argentina and India (A) are in Group B .
The opening match will be played between India (B-Manipur) and England.
On paper, Argentina and USA appear to be the strongest teams with two handicap 3 players and the rest with 2 handicaps each.
England team cannot be taken lightly for they have two players, George Shelton and Phil Seller who were part of the England team which visited last year and gave an exceedingly good account of themselves.
India B team which are made up of local lads and whose familiarity with the conditions and the ponies have made them proud winners of two editions of this tournament also should be taken into account as well.
Whatever the eventual outcome, one thing is for sure, the polo lovers of Manipur can look forward to lots of exciting games, fine horsemanship and skills in the days ahead- For the players coming from outside, playing in front of a passionate, vocal, sporting crowd will be a new experience.