Sports Bulletin Report
LAHORE: BN Polo and Master Paints/Newage Cables qualified for the semi-finals of the Century Ventures National Open Polo Championship for Quaid-e-Azam Gold Cup 2023 here at Lahore Polo Club on Tuesday.
The first match of the day proved a thrilling encounter where BN Polo defeated Remounts by a narrow margin of 8-7. Baber Naseem was the hero of the match as he hammered an impressive hat-trick in BN Polo’s victory while Tito Ruiz Guinazu and Hamza Mawaz Khan banged in a brace each while Elena Venot contributed one goal. For Remounts, Shahid Imran, Jota Chavanne and Sawar Naeem thrashed in two goals each while Manuel Sundblad struck one.
Both the teams – BN Polo and Remounts – started well but BN Polo played comparatively better polo and finished the first chukker, having a slight 3-2 lead. The only goal of the second chukker was converted by Remounts that helped them equalize the score at 3-3. The third chukker was identical to the first one where once again BN Polo managed to score three goals against two by Remounts to gain a minor 6-5 lead.
Remounts started playing aggressively in the fourth chukker that helped them slam in two goals against one BN Polo to draw the blood at 7-7. Both the sides fought well in the fifth and decisive chukker but BN Polo succeeded in smashing in the match-winning goal through Elena Venot, who fired in a fantastic field goal to power her side to a well-deserving 8-7 win.
The second match of the day proved a one-sided affair, where Master Paints/Newage Cables comfortably beat DS Polo by 9-5. From Master Paints/Newage, Juan Cruz Greguol played extremely well and smashed six superb goals while Simon Prada hammered an inspiring hat-trick. For DS Polo, Hissam Ali Hyder thrashed in three goals and Javier Guererro struck two goals.
The match started well by both the teams, who managed to convert two goals each to equalize the score at 2-2 but just before the end of the first chukker, Master Paints/Newage fired in a field goal to take a slight 3-2 lead. The second chukker was fully dominated by Master Paints/Newage, who banged in a brace to take a good 5-2 lead.
DS Polo played better polo in the third chukker and thrashed in two goals against one by Master Paints/Newage to reduce the margin to 4-6. The fourth chukker was evenly poised as one goal each was converted by both the sides, with Master Paints/Newage still enjoying 7-5 lead. They added two more goals in their tally to win the the match by 9-5.
Match Summary:
BN POLO 8-7 REMOUNTS
BN POLO: Baber Naseem 3, Tito Ruiz Guinazu 2, Hamza Mawaz Khan 2, Elena Venot 1. Total: 8.
REMOUNTS: Shahid Imran 2, Jota Chavanne 2, Sawar Naeem 2, Manuel Sundblad 1. Total: 7.
UMPIRES: John Fisher & Chris Hyde.
MASTER PAINTS/NEWAGE CABLES 9-5 DS POLO
MASTER PAINTS/NEWAGE:
Juan Cruz Greguol 6, Simon Prada 3. Total 9.
DS POLO: Hissam Ali Hyder 3, Javier Guererro 2. Total 5.
UMPIRES: John Fisher & Chris Hyde.
