LAHORE, Feb 09 (APP): The historical Aibak Polo Cup 2021 got underway here on Tuesday at the famous Aibak Polo ground.
“As many as top eight teams are vying for the top honours in the 14-goal tournament, which are divided into two pools.
The Pool A teams include Remounts, Colony Polo Team, Diamond Paints, Master Paints Black while Pool B teams are Barry’s, Master Paints, DS Polo/ASC and BN Polo, said Lahore Polo Club (LPC) President Omer Sadik, while addressing the press conference.
Other notables present on the occasion were LPC executive committee members Agha Murtaza Ali Khan, Shah Qubilai Alam, Feroz Gulzar, Usman Haye, Saqib Khan Khakwani, Agha Najeeb Raza, Secretary Lt Col (r) Mudassar Sharif and top national and international players.
“The opening match of the prestigious tournament will take place between Remounts and Colony Polo Team at 2:00 pm while the second match of the opening day will be contested between Diamond Paints and Master Paints Black at 3:00 pm.
The subsidiary and main finals will be played on February 14 (Sunday),” he added.
Throwing light on the history of the tournament, Omer Sadik said: “The Aibak Cup is dedicated to the memory of Qutubuddin Aibak, who became the Afghan Emperor Muhammed Ghauri’s most trusted general.
In early 1200, Emperor Ghauri appointed Qutubuddin as his ‘Naib us Sultanat’ in India at the grand darbar in Lahore.
Upon Ghauri’s death in 1206, the kingdom’s Central Asian territories were captured by the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan, but Aibak retained the lower kingdom and became ruler of the territories which now cover the areas of modern day Afghanistan, Pakistan & Northern India.
“Qutubuddin spent his time between Lahore & Delhi, where he also built the Qutub Minar, now a world heritage site. Sultan Qutubuddin Aibak died in Lahore in 1210 in an accident while playing polo. He was buried in Lahore near the Anarkali Bazaar,” he said.
“I hope the polo enthusiasts will witness high-quality polo on offer throughout the week while the presence of top national and international polo players will further make the event more action-packed,” the LPC Chief concluded.
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