Polo was invented and first played in Iran thousands of years ago. The original name of polo is “Chogan” which is a team sport played on horseback. Yesterday, polo was played symbolically at Shohada Sport Complex in Tehran, to be prepared for its inclusion in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO.
“The game of polo is played on horseback with a stick (mallet) and ball. The earliest records of polo are Persian; there is evidence that it was played in the time of King Darius the Great (522- 486 B. C). Persian polo is described in Sir Anthony Shirley’s Travels to Persia (1613)” [Encyclopedia Britannica].
Polo was invented and first played in Iran (or ancient Persia) thousands of years ago. The original name of polo is “Chogan” and in Iran the game is still referred to as “Chogan”. From its Iranian origins in Persia it spread to Constantinople, and eastward through Bactria and Afghanistan to Tibet, China, and Japan, and from Tibet to India, where it flourished throughout the Mughal (Mogul) dynasty. The word “polo” comes from the Tibetan word for the willow root from which polo balls were made of, which is “Pulu “.
