Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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The World Chovgan Championship in Baku, Azerbaijan, has been moved to June 7–14, AzerNEWS reports.

The event will be staged at the Bina Equestrian Center. Ten teams are set to battle for the title, with an additional side entering the tournament through a special invitation from the International Chovgan Federation.

Recall that the country earlier hosted the inaugural Chovgan competition in 2024.

Azerbaijan has a rich equestrian heritage, with chovgan, the country's traditional sport, being played by horsemen for centuries.

Chovgan is a traditional horse-riding game played between two teams mounted on the Karabakh horses.

Chovgan, the precursor to modern polo, was traditionally played during holiday celebrations.

Each team consists of five riders—two fullbacks and three forwards. The match begins at the center of the field, with players using wooden mallets to attempt to score by hitting a small leather or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal. The game lasts for 30 minutes. There are no age restrictions in this sport.

Chovgan 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 "chovgan" on its Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

There are many historical facts which prove that this sport game has ancient origins.

As a result of archaeological excavations conducted in the Oren-Kala area, a vessel with images of fragments of the game Chovgan was found, which indirectly confirms the existence of this game in the 11th century in the city of Beylagan (in the south of Azerbaijan).

Moreover, the chovgan game is mentioned in Nizami's poem "Khosrov and Shirin", as well as in the epic "Kitabi Dede Gorgud" (the Book of Dede Gorgud).

The 11th-century miniatures to the "Khosrov and Shirin" poem and Tabriz miniatures illustrate different scenes of this game. Detailed descriptions of the rules of the game are also found in ancient manuscripts.

Chovgan tournaments continue to be held in Azerbaijan, with the sport remaining popular in the country's regions.