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Polo Reading Answers

Bhaskar Das

Oct 9, 2025

Polo Reading Answers consists of 13 questions and is part of the IELTS General Reading test assessment system. Candidates must complete the Polo Reading Answers within a time limit of 20 minutes. In this IELTS reading section, the types of questions include: Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS and Do the following statements agree with the information provided.

Polo Reading Answers provides a detailed summary of Polo, which is one of the oldest team sports involving horseback riding, originating in Central Asia and later becoming known as the “sport of kings” around the world. The game consists of two teams that utilize mallets to score points while adhering to strict regulations to ensure fair competition and safety. For practice with similar reading tests, candidates can check the IELTS Reading Practice Test section.

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Polo Reading Answers

Topic:

Polo is a horseback riding team sport. It is one of the world’s first known team sports. Polo was primarily played in the state of Manipur (India) at dates given from the 6th century BC to the 1st century AD. Polo was at first a training game for cavalry units, generally the king’s guard or other elite troops. From there it spread to the total of Persia and beyond. It is now widespread around the world, with well over 100 member countries in the Federation of International Polo. It is played professionally in 16 countries. It was an Olympic sport from 1900 to 1936. Polo has been named “the sport of kings.” It became a popular viewer sport for equestrians and society, frequently maintained by sponsorship.

The game is played by two opposite teams with the objective of scoring goals by using a long-handled wooden mallet to knock out a small hard ball through the opposite team’s goal. Each team has four riding players, and the game typically continues one to two hours, separated into periods named “chukkas.” Arena polo has analogous rules and is played with three players per team. The playing area is minor, enclosed, and usually composed of sand or fine aggregate, often indoors. Arena polo has more maneuvering due to space restrictions and uses an air-filled ball, slightly larger than the hard field polo ball. Standard mallets are used, though somewhat larger head arena mallets are a choice.

Origins:

Although the origins of the game are mysterious, it most likely initiated as a simple game played by mounted Iranian nomads in Central Asia, from where it feasts to Iran (Persia) and beyond. In time, polo became a Persian national sport played widely by the nobility; women and men both played the sport. During the period of the Parthian Empire (247 BC to 224 AD), the sport had great backing under the kings and noblemen. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity, polo was a Persian ball game and a vital activity in the court of the Sasanian Empire (224–651). It was also part of royal education for members of the ruling class. Emperor Shapur II learnt to play polo when he was seven years old in 316 AD. Known as chovgan, it is still played in the region today.

Rules:

The rules of polo are written for the safety of both players and horses. Games are cautiously observed by umpires. A whistle is played if an infraction happens, and penalties are presented. Strategies in polo are based on the “line of the ball,” an imaginary line that tracks through the ball in the line of travel. This line traces the ball’s path and ranges past the ball along that path. The line of the ball describes rules for players to approach the ball safely. The “line of the ball” changes each time the ball changes direction. The player who hits the ball usually has the right of way, and other players cannot cross the line of the ball in front of the player.

As players approach the ball, they ride on either side of the line, giving each access to the ball. A player can cross the line of the ball when it does not make a dangerous situation. Most infractions and rules are connected to players improperly crossing the line of the ball in the right of way. When a player has the line of the ball on his right, he has the right of way. A “ride-off” is when a player changes another player off the line of the ball by making shoulder-to-shoulder contact with the players’ horses. The defensive player has a variety of prospects for his team to gain control of the ball.

He can block the ball or snip the play from the opponent. Another common defensive play is called “hooking.” While a player is taking a swing at the ball, his opponent can block the swing by using his mallet to knock the mallet of the player swinging at the ball. A player may hook only if he is on the side where the swing is being made or directly behind an opponent. A player may not deliberately touch another player, horse, or the ball with his mallet. Unsafe hooking is a foul that may result in a penalty shot being awarded. For example, it is a foul for a player to reach over an opponent’s mount.

The other elementary defensive play is called the bump or ride-off. It is like hockey. In a ride-off, a player rides his pony either with an opponent’s mount in order to move an opponent away from the ball or to take him out of play. It must be implemented properly so as not to threaten the horses or the players. The angle of contact must be mild and cannot be greater than 45 degrees. Two players following the line of the ball and riding one another off have the same right to it over a small distance in any direction. Like in hockey or basketball, fouls may be punished by penalty shots. As with all horse-related sport, fouls may be difficult to distinguish.

There are degrees of dangerous and unfair play, and penalties are awarded reliant on the severity of the foul and where it was committed on the polo field. White lines on the polo field specify where mid-field, sixty-, forty-, and thirty-yard penalties are taken. The set of rules and regulation interpretations are studied and published annually by each country’s polo association. Most of the smaller associations follow the rules of the Hurlingham Polo Association, the national governing body of the sport of polo in the United Kingdom, and the International Polo Association.

Questions 15-21

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?

TRUE - If the statement agrees with the information

FALSE - If the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN - If there is no information on this

15. Polo is an individual sport.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “The game is played by two opposite teams…”

Keywords: two teams, opposite, team sport

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 1

Explanation: Polo is explicitly mentioned as a team sport, not an individual one.

16. Polo was invented by a king of India.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “It most likely initiated as a simple game played by mounted Iranian nomads in Central Asia…”

Keywords: Iranian nomads, Central Asia, origins

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, line 1

Explanation: The game began with Iranian nomads, not an Indian king.

17. Polo was a training game and was played by the kings of that time.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “Polo was at first a training game for cavalry units, generally the king’s guard or other elite troops.”

Keywords: training game, king’s guard, elite troops

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, lines 4–5

Explanation: Polo was initially used as a training game for royal cavalry.

18. Arena polo has four players in each team.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “Arena polo… is played with three players per team.”

Keywords: three players per team

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 4

Explanation: Arena polo has three players, unlike field polo’s four.

19. Arena polo has a smaller and indoor area of play than regular polo.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “The playing area is minor, enclosed, and usually composed of sand or fine aggregate, often indoors.”

Keywords: smaller area, enclosed, indoors

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 5–6

Explanation: The description confirms arena polo’s smaller, often indoor setting.

20. An air inflated ball is used in Arena polo as compared to a hard ball.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “Arena polo… uses an air-filled ball, slightly larger than the hard field polo ball.”

Keywords: air-filled ball, hard field ball

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 6

Explanation: The text clearly contrasts the air-filled ball of arena polo with the hard ball used in field polo.

21. In Persia, only men played polo.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “In time, polo became a Persian national sport played widely by the nobility; women and men both played the sport.”

Keywords: women and men both played

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, line 4

Explanation: Both genders played polo in Persia, not just men.

Questions 22-27

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

22. The game of polo is carefully watched by ……………….

Answer: umpires

Supporting statement: “Games are cautiously observed by umpires.”

Keywords: carefully watched, umpires

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, line 1

Explanation: Umpires monitor games to ensure safety and fair play.

23. A ………………….. is blown when a foul is committed.

Answer: whistle

Supporting statement: “A whistle is played if an infraction happens…”

Keywords: whistle, infraction

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, line 2

Explanation: A whistle signals when a foul or infraction occurs.

24. Line of the ball is an ………………….. Line.

Answer: imaginary

Supporting statement: “Strategies in polo are based on the ‘line of the ball,’ an imaginary line…”

Keywords: line of the ball, imaginary line

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, line 3

Explanation: The passage defines the “line of the ball” as imaginary.

25. In hooking, the defensive player can ………………… the swing of his opponent.

Answer: block

Supporting statement: “While a player is taking a swing at the ball, his opponent can block the swing by using his mallet…”

Keywords: block, swing, opponent

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, line 2

Explanation: The defensive move “hooking” allows blocking an opponent’s swing.

26. Bump or ride-off in polo is like ………………… in hockey.

Answer: checking

Supporting statement: “The other elementary defensive play is called the bump or ride-off. It is like hockey.”

Keywords: bump, ride-off, like hockey

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, line 1

Explanation: The “ride-off” maneuver is similar to checking in hockey.

27. While bump or ride-off, the angle of contact must be …………………..

Answer: mild

Supporting statement: “The angle of contact must be mild and cannot be greater than 45 degrees.”

Keywords: angle of contact, mild

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, line 4

Explanation: To ensure safety, the bump’s contact angle must remain mild.

Check IELTS reading samples:

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.

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