Chitral defends title as festival concludes

Winning team won cash prize of Rs100,000 and Rs90,000 to runners-up

CHITRAL: Chitral on Monday retained its Shandur Polo championship after it trounced Gilgit-Baltistan 10-5 in the final of the annual three-day tournament at the ‘roof of the world’.

In the final match at the renovated ground, defending champions Chitral went in comfortable with a seasoned squad. On the other hand, the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) team had taken risks by including a few new players in their team.

Chitral, though, exploited this inexperience.

While G-B gave a good account of themselves, they found their Chitrali rivals a tad too strong to contain and ended up conceding 10 before they managed to score five in a late, but ultimately futile, rally.



While the tournament was the main event, the provincial tourism corporation had also organised a number of side events which showcased the trade, craft and talent of Chitral and G-B residents including traditional dances, work of local artisans and cultural nights.

Inspector General of Frontier Corps (IG FC) Major General Waseem Ashraf, who was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony, appreciated the security arrangements at the festival and other organization.

“Peace has prevailed in the country through the sacrifices of civilians and security forces,” Maj Gen Ashraf said, adding that the tourism department to extend services to visitors at other such festivals.

He handed the winning team a cash prize of Rs100,000 and Rs90,000 to the runners-up.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2018.