Sagol Kangjei, an indigenous game of Manipur, is similar to which modern sport?

Sagol Kangjei is a traditional game of Manipur that is regarded as one of the ancestors of modern polo. In Manipuri, "sagol" means pony (horse), "kang" means ball, and "jei" means stick, so the name means "hockey on horseback".

How Sagol Kangjei is played:

• Two teams of seven players each ride Manipuri ponies and use long sticks (mallets) made of cane to hit a ball made of bamboo root.
• The game has few rules, and goals are scored by hitting the ball across the opponent's back line.
• Players traditionally wear protective clothing and decorated turbans, and the ponies are decorated too.

How modern polo developed:

• In the 1850s, British officers and tea planters in Assam and Manipur saw the Manipuri people playing the game.
• In 1859, they founded the Silchar Polo Club in Silchar (Assam), which is regarded as the oldest polo club in the world.

The rules were formalised, and the game spread to England and the rest of the world. The Calcutta Polo Club (1862) is the oldest polo club still in existence.

The Imphal Polo Ground (Mapal Kangjeibung) in Manipur is considered one of the oldest polo grounds in the world.

Other traditional games of Manipur:

• Yubi Lakpi: a rugby-like game played with a greased coconut.
• Mukna: a form of wrestling.
• Thang-Ta: a martial art using swords and spears.
• Khong Kangjei: hockey played on foot.

Modern polo facts:

• A team has 4 players, and the game is divided into periods called "chukkers" (or chukkas) of 7.5 minutes each.
• The Indian Army's 61st Cavalry is one of the last horse-mounted cavalry regiments in the world and has produced many polo players.
• Jaipur, in Rajasthan, is famous for polo, and the Jaipur Polo Club is well known.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Hockey is similar in its use of sticks, but Sagol Kangjei is played on horseback.
• ✗Football does not use horses or sticks.
• ✗Golf is played on foot with clubs and holes.