LAHORE: Diamond Paints and FG Polo registered triumphs over their respective opponents in the 2nd President of Pakistan Polo Cup 2023 sponsored by Takmeel Square matches played here at the Jinnah Polo Fields on Friday.
Mir Huzaifa Ahmad steered Diamond Paints to a narrow 8-7½ over Master Paints in the first match of the day. Mir Huzaifa, who emerged as hero of the day for Diamond Paints, Mir Huzaifa played splendid polo and converted three tremendous goals, while Nico Roberts and Ahmed Ali Tiwana banged in a brace each and Chulo Corti struck one goal. Manuel Crispo fired in five goals while Agha Musa Ali Khan and Pelagio Balazaldi scored one goal each for Master Paints, which had a half goal handicap advantage.
Diamond Paints started the match with a field goal to take a 1-0 lead which couldn’t last long as Master Paints struck an equalizer to level the score at 1-1. Just before the end of the first chukker, Diamond Paints successfully converted a 40-yard penalty to get back a slight 2-1 lead. The second chukker saw total dominance of Master Paints, who slammed in four back-to-back four goals to earn a healthy 5-2 lead.
Diamond Paints made a strong comeback in the third chukker by hammering a hat-trick of goals to equalize the score at 5-5. Diamond Paints maintained their supremacy in the highly-charged fourth and last chukker by hammering another hat-trick of goals to gain an 8-5 lead. Master Paints though bounced back in the dying moments of the match by thrashing in two back-to-back goals to reduce the deficit to 7-8, yet it was all that they could get from the match as when the final bell was rung, Diamond Paints won the encounter by 8-7½.
Mian Abbas Mukhtar and Raul Laplacette were the two heroes of the day, who fired in four goals each FG Polo’s impressive 9-6 victory over DS Polo in the second match of the day. Both Abbas Mukhtar and Laplacette were in sublime form and displayed outstanding mallet and pony work that steered their side to an emphatic success, which also included a lone goal contribution from Ramiro Zavaleta. For DS Polo, Hissam Ali Hyder hammered three goals while Javier Guerrero scored two goals and Bilal Haye one.
Both the teams were off to a flying start as they converted one goal after another and finished the first chukker at 3-3. FG Polo played better polo in the second chukker by scoring two goals against one by DS Polo to earn a 5-4 lead. The third chukker was identical to the second one, where FG Polo players once again played well and thrashed in two goals against one by DS Polo to stretch their lead to 7-5.
