Gilgit-Baltistan beats Chitral to win Shandur polo title after 15 years

GILGIT/CHITRAL: Gilgit-Baltistan ended a 15-year wait for the Shandur Polo Festival title by edging Chitral 6-5 in a closely fought final played over nearly an hour at what is described as the world’s highest polo ground.

Chitral made the early running, with captain Izhar Ali Khan opening the scoring in the first minute before teammate Nasirullah added another. Gilgit-Baltistan drew level by the ninth minute through two quick goals, but Chitral still held a 5-4 advantage at the break.

The decisive moments came late in the contest when Gilgit-Baltistan’s Zulfiqar first struck the equaliser in the final minute and then added the winning goal to seal the championship. Arbab Quli of Chitral missed more than five scoring opportunities, while Saddam Raji played a central role in Gilgit-Baltistan’s win and was named man of the match.

Two Gilgit-Baltistan players were injured during the match and had to leave the field, resulting in both sides playing with four players each in the second half.

Festival crowd and honours

Peshawar Corps Commander Lt Gen Umar Ahmed Bukhari presented the trophy to the winning side and distributed prizes among the players. The final attracted a large turnout, with tourists from across Pakistan and from abroad attending the event, alongside about 30,000 spectators from Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan.

With this result, Chitral remains the most successful side in the event’s history with 17 titles, while Gilgit-Baltistan has now won 14 championships.

Annual event and background

The Shandur Polo Festival is jointly organised every year in June and July by the governments of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Alongside free-style polo, the festival features cultural programmes highlighting the region’s heritage, including music performances, paragliding displays and angling competitions.

An official of the Gilgit-Baltistan tourism department told Dawn that the festival has been held since 1982 and has become a major attraction for domestic and foreign visitors. However, it was not staged in 1999 because of the Kargil war between Pakistan and India. Gilgit-Baltistan also boycotted the event in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015, while the festival was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19. It was also cancelled in 2024.

Shandur is a disputed area between Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, and that the ownership claims of both governments are currently before a provincial boundary commission.