Jalandhar to host Asian tent pegging c'ship from Feb 13

After nine years, Jalandhar is going to host the national-level tent pegging championship from February 1 and, for the first time, Asian Championship will also be held here and the event will start from February 13.

Teams like the ITBP, Army Service Core, Northern Command, President Body Guard, Indian Navy, Chandigarh Police, Haryana Police, Rajasthan Police, Border Security Force, 61st cavalry, Punjab Police, and Remount Veterinary Core will participate in the event. The event that is being organised by the Punjab Armed Police (PAP) will conclude on February 10.

Tent pegging demands tremendous amount of skills. It is a game in which speed and time matter the most,” Inspector Youngbir Singh, who is part of the Punjab Police team, added. Youngbir said the team, which will be part of the event, had been taking part in national-level tournaments since 1990.

“In this game, training of horse and rider is very important," he added.

"As much as 80 per cent of the contribution is made by the horse and 20 per cent by the rider,” an expert shared.

“But the rider’s 20 per cent should be his 100 per cent, he should have full concentration on the game in order to have control over everything,” he added.

It will be for the third time that Jalandhar will be hosting the championship. First time, the championship was held in the city in 2001 and then in 2017.

One of the members at the PAP, while explaining the history of the event, said: “The game originated when Army personnel on their horses used to gallop to tents of enemies and pluck out their pegs, causing the tents to collapse on them and causing havoc and terror in the camp. It used to be an important war tactic.”

There has been a concern regarding the ancient game that it is largely confined to the Army and the police and civilians do not show much interest in the same.