Polo in India

India is the birthplace of modern polo . The modern game of polo is derived from Manipur , where the game was known as sagol kangjei , kanjai-bazee , or pulu . It was the anglicised form of the last, referring to the wooden ball that was used, which was adopted by the sport in its slow spread to the west. Marjing Polo Statue , the world's tallest polo player statue, standing inside the Marjing Polo Complex , dedicated to God Marjing , the Meitei deity of polo sports, in the Heingang Ching hills in Manipur History Origins Qutubuddin Aibak , a Turkic slave from Central Asia who later became the Sultan of Delhi , ruled for only four years, from 1206 to 1210, dying an accidental death during a game of polo in Lahore (in present-day Pakistan) when his horse fell and he was impaled on the pommel of his saddle. The sport was also popular among Mughal emperors who called it Chaugan . Emperor Akbar introduced an official set of rules for the sport. The origins of the game in Manipur are traced to early precursors of Sagol Kangjei. This was one of three forms of hockey in Manipur, the other ones being field hockey (called Khong Kangjei) and wrestling-hockey (called Mukna Kangjei).