National team wins Arena Polo World Cup 2019 [UPDATE]

16 September 2019 10:21 (UTC+04:00)

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By Laman Ismayilova

The 7th Arena has been solemnly held in Baku, bringing together international teams from Azerbaijan, Germany, Russia and Switzerland.

Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva, president of Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation Elchin Guliyev, Deputy Secretary General of National Olymic Committee, Vice President of Azerbaijan Weightlifting Federation Azer Aliyev, president of World Polo Reto Gaudenzi and others attended the final.

The first match of the tournament took place between the jockeys from Azerbaijan and Switzerland on September 13.

Azerbaijan's Elite Horse & Polo Club gained a victory at 7th Arena Polo World Cup.

National team won the title after beating Los Nocheros Polo Club Münster-15-4. The members of national team Elchin Jamalli (9), Tarlan Gurbanaliev (4), Rashad Hasanov and Namig Orujev demonstrated exceptional skills.

German Los Nocheros Polo Club Munster was second, while Swiss Evviva Polo Club St. Moritz ranked third. Russian Planernaya Polo Club Moscow team took the fourth place respectively.

Following the Seventh Arena Polo World Cup, Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation will host the 13th Federation of International Polo (FIP) European Championship on September 10-20. The Championship will bring together 8 equestrian teams.

"A brave man is known for his horse". This saying describes the sense of pride and love of the Azerbaijani people for horses.

The beauty and grace of Azerbaijani horses has been glorified through the World. Two out of about 260 breeds of horses such as Karabakh and Deliboz (Gazakh) appeared in Azerbaijan.

Karabakh horses are usually chestnut or bay with a golden tint. Some of them can be gray or have white spots.

The Deliboz originated at the end of the 18th century. It was a traditional local breed of Oriental type, with similarities to Persian and Turkoman horses.

The country is a home to ancient polo game, chovgan. There is a connection between chovgan and polo games. It is a reminder of the roots of the original polo sport in Azerbaijan.

Chovgan dates back to the period between the sixth century BC and first century AD.

Chovgan was considered an aristocratic game and held in a separate field, on specially trained horses.

In 2013 UNESCO included Azerbaijani Chovken in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent safeguarding. In 2017, UNESCO inscribed chovgan as an Iranian sport in the Cultural Heritage List.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova