Nigerian student using polo to build friendships in China via the Hong Kong Beginners Cup
- Ahmed Tukur will captain one of the teams for the 2019 edition of the Tianjin tournament, which is aimed at introducing Hongkongers to polo
- The civil engineering student has been playing since he was eight years old and says polo is one of the most popular sports in Nigeria
China was a polo desert for Nigerian Ahmed Tukur, who has been an avid player since childhood. For three years, the 23-year-old – studying civil engineering in Shenyang – was unable to play the sport he grew up with.
That was until he stumbled on a YouTube video posted by Hong Kong lawyer Andrew Leung – founder of the year-old Hong Kong Beginners Cup.
Tukur has since been installed as one of the team captains for the 2019 edition at the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club, where he will act as a guide for a team of largely novice players in a tournament designed to introduce Hongkongers to the sport.
Nigeria is known around the world as an exporter of world-class football players and few outside the country would link it with polo. Tukur, however, insists it is one of the most popular sports in Nigeria, especially in the northern areas.
Hong Kong Beginners Cup 2018 promotional video
“I’ve been playing polo since I was eight back home in Nigeria,” said Tukur, who grew up in Kaduna in the country’s northwest. “I came to China three years ago and had not played polo since arriving.
