A champion is returning to Charlottesville.
Mohammad Saqib Khakwani, a 2004 University of Virginia economics graduate, was part of two national championship men’s polo teams with the Virginia Polo Club in 2003 and 2004. He plans to return to UVA as captain of the Pakistani national polo team, which will compete in the Federation of International Polo Arena World Championship, being hosted by Virginia Polo from Sunday through Oct.12.
Six teams from France, Argentina, Pakistan, the United States, Guatemala and Italy will compete, with all games played outdoors at either the Virginia Polo Center or Roseland Polo Club at King Family Vineyards, unless weather precludes it, moving the matches to Virginia Polo’s indoor arena. The tournament will be livestreamed on the U.S. Polo Association’s Polo Network Channel.
Coach Lou Lopez hefts the men’s team’s 2004 championship trophy. From left, Robert Orthwein, Frank Ryan, Lopez, Matt Dougherty and Mohammad Saqib Khakwani. (Contributed photo)
“Polo has always held a very important axis in my life,” Khakwani said. “I feel it was because of the love of horses. A lot of my time is spent in the stables with my grooms, enjoying detailed discussions about all the horses and looking for ways to better the string.”
From an early age, Khakwani followed in the footsteps of his polo-playing father.
“I and my brothers picked up the sport quite early,” Khakwani said. “Polo in Pakistan is played mostly in the winters, as we hit 45 degrees Celsius [about 110 degrees Fahrenheit] in the summers. And every day after school, we used to be at the polo club. Growing up, winters meant polo and summers meant golf.”
With his wife Annie and some partners, Khakwani co-founded Oliotech Services, the first Pakistani company offering rental equipment solutions to leading oil and gas companies nationwide. And, at the age of 30, he became a professional polo player.
“Polo has grown immensely in Pakistan over the last few decades,” Khakwani said. “Lahore Polo Club, where I grew up, is one of the oldest clubs in the world, dating back to 1886. It has three beautiful, state-of-the-art polo fields and almost 400 stables in downtown Lahore city. Currently, Lahore is home to three polo clubs and nine polo fields, which makes it a unique city.”
The clubs have developed teams and invested heavily in imported horses from Argentina, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand to develop a higher quality of polo.
