The Huaneng Shandong Ruyi-sponsored Aibak Polo Cup 2018 will get underway here at the Lahore Polo Club (LPC) ground from Tuesday (today). Lahore Polo Club President Irfan Ali Hyder said, here Monday that upto top seven teams have been featuring in the 14-goal tournament, which are divided into two pools. Pool-A consists of Master Paints Black, Newage/BBJ Pipes, Rijas Aces/PAF and Barry's while Pool-B has Army, Diamond Paints/Guard Rice and Rizvi's/Master Paints in it.

The inaugural match of the tournament will be contested between Army and Diamond Paints/Guard Rice while the main and subsidiary finals will be played on February 25 (Sunday).

Highlighting the history of the tournament, Irfan said: "The Aibak Cup is dedicated to the memory of Qutubuddin Aibak, who was of Central Asian desent and became the Afghan Emperor Muhammed Ghauri's most trusted general. Aibak spent his time between Lahore & Delhi, where he also built the Qutub Minar, now a world heritage site. Sultan Qutubuddin Aibak died in Lahore in 1210 in an accident while playing polo. He was buried in Lahore near the Anarkali bazaar," he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2018