Afghanistan’s national buzkashi team has withdrawn from the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan following a dispute over the horses supplied for competition.
Ghulam Sarwar Jalal, head of the Afghanistan Buzkashi Federation, said the team declined to contest its scheduled match against Mongolia because appropriate horses were not available for the Afghan chapandaz, or riders, according to a report published by Amu TV on Thursday.
The forfeit was registered as a 3–0 victory for Mongolia. Afghanistan had lost its opening Group A match 4–1 to Uzbekistan one day earlier, with hosts Kyrgyzstan also drawn in the group.
The Afghan delegation travelled to Kyrgyzstan with 12 members: 10 riders, one coach and Jalal as delegation leader, according to Afghanistan’s sports authorities.
The available reports did not include a response from the World Nomad Games organisers to the federation’s claim about the horses. ASJFNEWS could not independently establish how horses were allocated to the competing teams.
The sixth World Nomad Games began on August 31 and continue through September 6. The opening ceremony was held in Bishkek, while the principal sporting and cultural events are taking place in the Issyk-Kul region.
Buzkashi is one of Afghanistan’s best-known traditional sports, with mounted riders competing to carry a weighted object toward a scoring area.
