President Aliyev meets with national polo team

By Nigar Orujova - AzerNews 

President Ilham Aliyev met on October 2 with members of Azerbaijan’s national polo team who won the First European Championship held in Baku.

President of Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation Elchin Guliyev and member of the team Elchin Jamalli thanked President Aliyev for attention to the development of sport in the country, particularly equestrian sport and polo.

Then keepsakes were presented to the president.

The head of state stressed the role of the coach in the team’s success at the European Championship held in Baku in September.

Silvestre Garros, the coach of Azerbaijan national polo team, highlighted the world sports community’s reaction to the achievements of the Azerbaijani athletes in various international competitions including Olympic Games, which was possible thanks to grandiose work carried out in the country to develop sports.

The first FIP Arena Polo European Championship in Baku ended with the victory of the Azerbaijani team.

The national team that include Elchin Jamal, Tarlan Gurbanaliyev, Rashad Hasanov, and Sylvester Garros took gold defeating Germany, proving that Azerbaijanis still retain their mastery of this ancient sport.

Azerbaijan has been a member of the Federation of International Polo since 2013.

Azerbaijanis have a heritage of playing equestrian sports like Chovgan, the original form of polo dating back thousands of years.

Chovgan is still exists in Azerbaijan to this day, and since 2006, the Chovgan Presidential Cup has been held every December.

This ancient game was included in UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage at the eighth Session of UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which was held in Baku in 2013.