Shaheer Ahmed
This year has been packed with the most exciting sports events. It is not just cricket this year, but we have a long list of other sports championships and tournaments as well. The interesting news is that the 1st President of Pakistan National Open Polo Championship 2022 is underway. We can’t wait to see some amazing moments from the ground.
JPF President Lt. Col (R) Shoaib Aftab, executive committee members Mir Shoaib Ahmed, Nafees Barry and sponsors Mid City Housing Director Marketing Moeen Safdar, Brand Manager Mehreen Sarwar, Askari Bank’s Muhammad Imran, representatives of Suzuki Pakistan graced the opening ceremony of the championship with their presence at Jinnah Polo Fields, Lahore.
The tournament is two weeks long. 9 teams will take part in it. They are divided into two pools.
Pool A
- Diamond Paints
- Barry’s
- HN Polo
- BN Polo
- FG Polo
Pool B
- Master Paints
- Newage Cables/Master Paints
- Remounts
- DS Polo/Rizvi’s
The teams have national players. The foreign players in the teams are from:
- England
- Chile
- Argentine
- Iran
- Italy
The tournament seems action-packed and challenging.
Col Shoaib, while addressing the press conference, said: “Pakistan Polo Association (PPA) has allotted Pakistan’s biggest polo event to Jinnah Polo Fields. The 109-acre Jinnah Polo Fields has three international standard fields, which can host international polo events in the best possible manner.”
Nafees Barry said: “The 1st President of Pakistan National Open Polo Championship is being aired live by Polo Line and will be watched live by the polo community in the entire world. I am grateful to sponsors Mid City Housing, Askari Bank, and Suzuki Pakistan for their all-out support and sponsorship that will help in making the biggest event of Pakistan a huge success.”
Moeen Safdar, Mid City Director Marketing said: “We hope that this two-week-long activity will be witnessed and enjoyed by the maximum number of lively Lahoris and the presence of top national and international polo players will make this prestigious event a remarkable one.”
On an opening day, two matches took place:
- Barry’s Vs Diamond Paints: Barry’s turned out victorious with 14-10. Barry’s Hero Ernesto Trotz (7 goals), Horacio Carlos (5 goals), and Hamza Mawaz Khan (2 goals) smashed superb goals for the winning side. Diamond Paints’ Guy Gibrat (7 goals), Ahmed Ali Tiwana (2 goals), and Matias Vial Perez (1 goal) were the main performers.
- Remounts vs Master Paints: Remounts had beaten MasterPaints by 8-7. Simon Prado (3 goals), Nico Roberts and Imran Shahid (2 goals), and Mumtaz Abbas Niazi (1 goal) were the top performers. Master Paints’ Marcos Penalo scored six goals whereas Martin Carlos could just get past by 1 goal.
On the second day, the following matches were played:
- HN Polo vs BN Polo: HN Polo came out victorious with 10-6. Saqib Khan Khakwani (4 goals), Tito Ruiz Guinazu, Hilario Ruiz Guinazu, and Haider Naseem (1 goal each) helped their team to win. BN Polo’s Baber Naseem (4 goals), Julio Astrada, and Abdul Rehman Monnoo (1 goal each) were the top performers.
- Newage Cables/Master Paints vs DS Polo/Rizvi’s: Newage Cables/Master Paints beat DS Polo/Rizvi’s by 10-9 in a nail-biting match. Gonzalo Deltour with 9 goals took the team to victory along with Vieri Antinori, who scored 1 goal. Max Charlton from DS Polo smashed in superb seven goals while Hissam Ali Hyder could get through 1
- Diamond paints vs FG Polo: Diamond Paints beat FG Polo by 9-4. Max Charlton (5 goals), Guy Gibrant (3 goals), Ahmed Ali Tiwana (1 goal), Juan Ambroggio, and Mumtaz Abbas Niazi (1 goal each) contributed to their team’s victory.
Today, in the evening, two matches will be played:
- BN Polo vs FG Polo at 2:15 pm
- Barry’s vs HN Polo at 3:30 pm.
The enthusiasm of the players and the crowd shows how much they are enjoying the matches. We will be back for more updates on the polo matches. Stay tuned for that.
