Tent-Pegging comes to Islamabad

Tent-Pegging comes to Islamabad 

The latest Tent-pegging competition held under the auspices of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is now in full swing in the F-9 Park Islamabad.

The event has been organized after a lapse of almost eight years when it was first organized in 2004. The show is part of the larger Jashn-e-Bharan (Spring) Festival and no fewer than 15 local teams belonging to the Potohar region a total of 340 riders are
participating in the event in the cluster of 85 teams belonging to almost all parts of Punjab, while six teams have arrived from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Predominantly a Rural sport in the country, Tent-Pegging has found its way to the urban elites of the city as hordes of spectators of all age groups thronged the park to witness the high-profile-adrenaline gushing event.

“This is amazing and unbelievable to see the rider hanging halfway down while galloping at very high speed to pick up the piece of wood with spear,” said Naufail Shahrukh, who went to see the event with his family. “We all used to think that pegging was
an easy game now I see that it needs really hard practice and dedication.”

Tent-Pegging gained prominence in the subcontinent in the times of the Mughal rule when the art was practiced to tackle the giant elephant brigades of the then Hindu rulers. These elephants were covered by metal protections all over and were considered to
be the medieval tanks in warfare. The horsemen were trained to attack the feet of the giant pachyderms to bring them down and their art required exceptional accuracy and precision.

Today the war game has turned into a sport and is often practiced in the rural areas of Punjab and KPK.

“The success of this event has proved that tent pegging is still a popular game in country,” Faisal Sakhi Butt, Chairman Prime Minister`s Task Force on Islamabad said while inaugurating the event. To the delight of the organizers, the riders include one
sitting MPA, one MNA and several high ranking government officers.

To make the event more attractive, the venue has been decorated with colourful stalls, cultural shows, camel ride and other entertainment oriented festivities, which are part of the Jashn-e-Baharan in the Capital being organised by the Environment Wing of
CDA.

To promote such events in the city the Tourism Division of the CDA has started to develop liaison with various national level clubs and associations to participate in the future events.

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Posted by Naveed A Bari on Mar 17 2012. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry