Imphal, Jan. 17: A five-day 2nd Manipur statehood day women’s polo tournament began at Mapal Kangjeibung, the world’s oldest living polo ground in Imphal on Tuesday. Director General of Police Manipur, LM Khaute, and All Manipur Polo Association (AMPA) president, Dr. K Saratchandra were the chief guest and functional president of the inaugural function respectively.
The tournament, organised by Manipur Tourism in association with the AMPA, will continue till January 21, the statehood day of Manipur.
The firdt day match was participated by two international women teams- the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) UK and Team USPA women.A women polo team from Manipur, the birthplace of modern polo - the sport of kings, will compete with two international teams in the tournament. AMPA, a patron of polo game in Manipur, was established under the patronage of Maharaja Bodhchandra of Manipur in 1955 and started the first polo tourney in 1959 and has so far organised 38 tournaments besides introducing women’s polo tournaments in 1993.
Team USPA Women is participating in the tournament for the second time. Its special relationship with Manipur began in 2013 when the US men’s team began participating at the Manipur International Polo Tournament. Team USPA Women is its first women’s team to play internationally. Similarly, the HPA, UK, is the governing body for polo in the UK, Ireland and many other countries throughout the world.
