The Shandur polo festival hosts one of the grandest polo tournaments in the world. Every summer, 15,000 spectators, both local and foreign, throng the Shandur pass (3800m) to witness polo teams from Chitral and Gilgit face off against each another on the world?s highest polo ground. They play a game of freestyle polo which bears little rule. Horses are sometimes driven into each other to intimidate the opponents, and sticks are swung blindly. At this altitute, unacclimatised horses sometimes drop dead in the middle of a match due to exhaustion. But it is a game of great spirits, as despite the lack of rules, play usually continues non-stop in relative peace for two 30 minutes-halves, enthralling the audience who endure bumpy 10-hour roadtrips for the festival.
Sam Kang Li (b.1984) recently graduated from college and is a photographer currently based in Singapore. In 2008, he interned as a photojournalist with Nepal�¢??s most widely read English-language weekly, Nepali Times, covering the country�¢??s transition from a monarchy to a republic and the coming to parliamentary powers by the Maoists. More of his works can be found on www.samkangliphotos.com
