MOSCOW: At a suburban hockey pitch on the southern edges of Moscow, a small group of dedicated enthusiasts gather regularly to bring an unusual sport to Russia: bike polo.

It is a modern take on an ancient game: instead of horses, bike polo players race around on two wheels, attempting to drive a ball into their opponents’ goal using a long handled mallet.

“The game is as simple as it gets,” said player Artyom Nesterov.

“It’s a street sport where two teams of three play. Instead of horses we use bicycles.” It is a demanding task, as players must coordinate chasing a ball with riding a bike — as well as avoiding careering into the other players.

“The difficult thing is to combine and coordinate your mallet work with riding a bicycle,” said player Sergei Gavrilov.

Bike polo is nothing new: the sport was invented in Ireland in the late 19th century, before catching on among a small community of enthusiasts across Europe, Asia and America.

But in Russia, where Moscow teams sometimes face off against rivals from other cities, it remains a strictly niche pursuit, albeit one with dreams of going mainstream.

“We want to achieve the level of play we see in North America and Europe,” said player Pavel Smirnov, who estimated that there are between 20 and 30 confident players in Moscow, a city of around 17 million. For now, the tight community is one of the main attractions.

Smirnov said: “We have this feeling of a small underground friendly community where everyone treats everyone else with warmth.”

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2024