Azernews.Az

The Chovqan World Championship has kicked off at the Bina Equestrian Centre, Azernews reports.

The first vice president of the Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation, Basirat Guliyev, addressed the event organised by the federation.

In his speech, Basirat Guliyev stressed the importance of the Chovqan World Championship in terms of the development of horse breeding and the training of strong athletes in the country.

He underlined that the prestigious tournaments held in Azerbaijan play a great role in the worldwide recognition of national horse breeds and in the promotion of horse racing.

Basirat Guliyev expressed his hope that the participating countries will demonstrate sports, friendship, and peace at the Chovqan World Championship.

The General Secretary of the Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation, Bahruz Nabiyev, drew attention to the fact that chovqan is not only a sport, but a part of Azerbaijan's ancient history.

After the official speeches, the world championship was declared open.

The National Anthem of Azerbaijan was played at the opening ceremony, followed by a horse parade of the participating teams and a colourful show.

The Chovqan World Championship, which has brought together teams from ten countries, will end on June 16.

Chovqan is a traditional horse-riding game played between two teams mounted on Garabagh horses. Chovqan is the predecessor of modern polo. The horse racing was held during holiday festivities.

Each team has five riders, with two fullbacks and three forwards. The game starts at the centre of the field, and players use wooden mallets to try to drive a small leather or wooden ball into their opponents’ goal. The game lasts 30 minutes. There is no age limit in this sport.

Chovqan players traditionally wear large astrakhan hats, long, tight-fitting coats with a high waist, and special trousers, socks, and shoes.

In 2013, UNESCO decided to include the game of “chovqan” on its Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

----

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

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz