Sagol Kangjei

In News

• The Home Minister inaugurated  a 122-foot-tall statue of a polo player astride a Manipur Pony in Imphal.

About

• Modern-day polo originated within the small northeast Indian state of Manipur in 3100 BC, where it was played as sagol kangjei (sagol means pony and kangjei is a game of sticks). 
• The Manipur Pony is one of five recognised equine breeds of India, and has a powerful cultural significance for Manipuri society. 
• The Lai-Haraoba festival of the state depicts the life and times of Khori-phaba, the polo-playing god of sports.
• The origins of polo in Manipur are associated mythologically with Marjing, the God of the Chenglei tribe, to whom a structure similar to the ancient polo stick along and a ball are still offered in worship.

Source: IE