Master Paints seals Master Paints Polo Cup title
Master Paints/Rizvi’s defeated Newage/Guard Group by 10-7½ in the Master Paints Polo Cup final played at the Lahore Polo Club (LPC) ground.
Final of the tournament was played between Master Paints/ Rizvi’s and Newage/Guard Group and it was Master Paints’s who lifts the cup after a thrilling encounter.
Juan Cruz Losada impose all his efforts to get the title of Master Paints Polo Cup for Master Paints as he scored six fabulous goals while Hamza Mawaz Khan slammed in a brace and Mumtaz Abbas Niazi and Farooq Amin Sufi contributed one goal each. From the losing side, which had one and half goal handicap advantage, Salvador Ulloa hammered a hat-trick while Taimur Ali Malik banged in a brace and Raja Arslan Najeeb contributed one goal.
In the very first chukker, Both the teams fought well to earn the lead as Newage/Guard Group having one and half goal handicap advantage but Juan took the charge and struck the first beautiful goal for Master paints to make its 1-1½ and soon Mumtaz Abbas scored a field goal to Master Paints 2-1½ lead. In the dying moments of the first chukker, Salvador smashed in a superb field goal to gain 2½-2 lead once again.
The second chukker saw total dominance of Master Paints, who pumped in four goals to stretch their lead to 6-2½. Losada was the striker who added two more in the tally while Hamza Mawaz and Farooq Sufi added one goal apiece.
In the third chukker Newage/Guard Group bounced back by banging in a brace through Raja Arslan and Salvador both scored one goal apiece to reduce the margin by 6-4½ but Losada struck another field goal to further enhance Master Paints lead to 7-4½. Salvador continued his struggle which paid off well when he got a 30-yard penalty, which he successfully converted to make it 7-5½. In the dying moments of the chukker, Hamza Mawaz came from behind and scored a field goal to make increase his team’s lead to 8-5½.
The fourth and last chukker of the final saw Both the teams fought well to earn the lead and Newage/Guard Group made a strong comeback by thwarting two tremendous goals both by Taimur Ali Malik which brought them very close to Master Paints score as it was 8-7½. Newage were looking in great form and attacking their opponents’ goal consecutively but Master Paints not only defended very well but also hammered two magnificent goals through hero of the match Losada to emerge as title winners. Bilal Haye and Macos Araya supervised the final as field umpires.
Special Advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Khawaja Ahmad Hassan graced the final as chief guest while Master Paints CEO Sufi M Amin was guest of honor. Master Paints Directors Sufi M Haris, Sufi M Amir, Farrukh Amin Sufi and Farooq Amin Sufi, Lahore Polo Club President Irfan Ali Hyder, executive committee members, families of members and players and a great number of polo lovers were also present on the occasion and witnessed the exciting final. In the concluding ceremony, the chief guest and guest of honor distributed trophies and prizes among the winners.
