Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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The third round of the Professional Chovgan League has concluded, AzerNEWS reports citing the Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation.

The teams "Embavud" and "Sarhadchi," both undefeated in their first two games, faced each other. The match ended with a 2:1 victory for "Sarhadchi."

In other matches of the day, "Buta Golden" scored five unanswered goals against "Shamakhi."

The team "Zafar" defeated "Khazar" 7:0, and "Polad" beat "Omar" 3:0. Meanwhile, "Atilla" was handed a 0:6 technical defeat for failing to play against "Elit."

After three rounds, the teams "Polad," "Sarhadchi," and "Elit" are leading the standings with 9 points each, while three other teams have 6 points.

In the top scorers list, Shefayet Budagov from "Polad" leads with 9 goals, followed by his teammate Samir Pirimov with 8 goals. From "Sarhadchi", Vahid Mammadov has scored 7 goals, and Ibrahim Rzali has 5.

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.