Elephant Polo

Elephant polo is a game quite similar to the polo most of us already know. It is just that players ride elephants instead of horses. Elephant polo is played in Nepal, Sri Lanka, India (state of Rajasthan) and Thailand. The game is played with 4 or in some situations 3 players in every team. Matches are set on a pitch of 100 metres by 70 metres. Every match is divided in two 10 minutes periods or "chukkers." The referee rides an elephant too.

Elephant polo

Two persons ride each elephant. The one called "mahoot" steers the elephant. The other is a player who tells the mahoot where to the elephant should go. He also hits the ball with a polo mallet. When played with four elephants teams, two elephants must always be in the defence. If the match finishes in a draw, it is decided in 5 minutes extra time. This extra period is called "sudden death."