National Open Polo Championship: Diamond Paints begin title defence in style
Defeat Master Paints/Habib Metro 9-6 in opening match .
Khakwani scored a double hat-trick and Cernadas netted thrice to give Diamond Paints a comfortable win. PHOTO COURTESY: LPC
KARACHI:
Diamond Paints began their title defence of the National Open Polo Championship in style as they defeated Master Paints/Habib Metro 9-6 at the Lahore Polo Club (LPC) on Wednesday.
Saqib Khan Khakwani led the team to victory in the opening match of the championship when he struck a double hat-trick for Diamond Paints. He was supported by Santiago Cernadas, who also scored a hat-trick to ensure the win.
Meanwhile, Pedro Guiterrez slammed five goals for Master Paints/Habib Metro but he failed to save his side from losing. Hissam Ali Hyder contributed with one goal for the losing side.
Polo: Hyder confident of dethroning Diamond Paints
“We had a tough game today,” Khakwani told The Express Tribune. “We wanted to start the tournament well so we did put a lot of pressure on our opponents and made them make mistakes, on which we capitalised. Now we are hoping to build momentum for the rest of the tournament.”
In the second match of the day, Army Remounts edged past Master Paints 9-8 as George Meyrick scored four goals for the winners, while Major General Isfandiyar Pataudi and Major Haseeb Minhas struck two goals each in addition to Major Omer’s lone strike.
For the losing side, Argentina’s Juan Cruz Losada scored five goals, while Hamza Mawaz Khan also netted thrice.
In the third and the last match of the day, Pedro Zacharias helped Sabeeha Anees defeat Learning Alliance 11-10 after the match was pushed to the tie-breaker in the sixth chukker.
Both teams were 10-10 after the fifth chukker and required a tie-breaker to decide the game. Zacharias scored all 11 goals for Sabeeha Anees, while Max Charlton scored six goals for Learning Alliance, Usman Haye contributed with two and Ahmed Ali Tiwana and Jalil Azam scored a goal apiece.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2016.
Diamond Paints began their title defence of the National Open Polo Championship in style as they defeated Master Paints/Habib Metro 9-6 at the Lahore Polo Club (LPC) on Wednesday.
Saqib Khan Khakwani led the team to victory in the opening match of the championship when he struck a double hat-trick for Diamond Paints. He was supported by Santiago Cernadas, who also scored a hat-trick to ensure the win.
Meanwhile, Pedro Guiterrez slammed five goals for Master Paints/Habib Metro but he failed to save his side from losing. Hissam Ali Hyder contributed with one goal for the losing side.
Polo: Hyder confident of dethroning Diamond Paints
“We had a tough game today,” Khakwani told The Express Tribune. “We wanted to start the tournament well so we did put a lot of pressure on our opponents and made them make mistakes, on which we capitalised. Now we are hoping to build momentum for the rest of the tournament.”
In the second match of the day, Army Remounts edged past Master Paints 9-8 as George Meyrick scored four goals for the winners, while Major General Isfandiyar Pataudi and Major Haseeb Minhas struck two goals each in addition to Major Omer’s lone strike.
For the losing side, Argentina’s Juan Cruz Losada scored five goals, while Hamza Mawaz Khan also netted thrice.
In the third and the last match of the day, Pedro Zacharias helped Sabeeha Anees defeat Learning Alliance 11-10 after the match was pushed to the tie-breaker in the sixth chukker.
Both teams were 10-10 after the fifth chukker and required a tie-breaker to decide the game. Zacharias scored all 11 goals for Sabeeha Anees, while Max Charlton scored six goals for Learning Alliance, Usman Haye contributed with two and Ahmed Ali Tiwana and Jalil Azam scored a goal apiece.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2016.