Ladakh Scouts Regimental Centre Red team won the first LG Horse Polo Cup 2021 beating Himalayan-B Drass by 4-0 goals on October 5 at Horse Polo Stadium Goshan, Drass.

Teams from different parts of Ladakh including Drass, Chuchot and MundiK, Ladakh Scouts and Animal Husbandry Department Leh participated in the 7-day tournament. 

L-G Mathur extended congratulations to all the 14 participating teams especially the winner and runners up teams that participated in the final match. He stated that horse polo as a game involves a lot of vigour and physical activity and needs to be promoted among the youth of Ladakh. He said that efforts will be made to organise such Polo championships every year and Polo teams should practice regularly to attain proficiency. 

Making mention of the vision of the UT Administration Ladakh to take Polo to higher standards, LG Mathur said that concrete steps will be taken to achieve this goal. He said that for development of sports infrastructure at horse polo stadium Goshan Drass which is a one of its kind Polo ground located in the midst of picturesque mountains, the galleries around the stadium and other required infrastructure will be developed and improved. 

LG Mathur further said that to promote winter sports a branch of the Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering will be opened in Kargil soon which will help in providing necessary technical guidance for improvement of ice hockey and other winter sports. He further mentioned that the UT Administration Ladakh has also provided funds to update the ice hockey stadiums at Leh and Kargil as 24x7 all-weather stadiums, while steps will also be taken to construct such stadiums at sub divisional, block and school level on similar lines. 

Chairman and Chief Executive Councillor, LAHDC, Kargil, Feroz Ahmad Khan in his address expressed gratitude to the LG Ladakh for taking the initiative for revival of horse polo by introducing the LG Polo Cup and hoped that it will continue in future with the participation of national and international teams. 

Secretary Youth Services and Sports Ravinder Kumar expressed gratitude to the LG Ladakh for his vision towards promoting and popularizing traditional games in Ladakh by conducting such tournaments. He also thanked the UT Administration Ladakh, LAHDC and District Administration Kargil, Tourism Department, Ladakh Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, Police Department, other concerned departments, local polo clubs of Drass, polo teams, besides other individuals and agencies for successful conduct of the tournament.