BN Polo seals Chief Minister Polo Cup
BN Polo Team clinched the Gobi’s Paints-sponsored Chief Minister Polo Cup after beating Ravi Pipes by 5-4½ in the main final played here at the Lahore Polo Club ground.
BN Polo Team clinched the Gobi’s Paints-sponsored Chief Minister Polo Cup after beating Ravi Pipes by 5-4½ in the main final played here at the Lahore Polo Club ground.
Juan Maria Ruiz stole the limelight with three well struck goals while Babar Naseem and Saqib Khan Khakwani converted one goal each for the winners. From Ravi Pipes, which had two and a half goal handicap advantage, Bilal Haye struck both the goals.
Ravi Pipes were off to flying start as they converted a 60-yard penalty successfully to gain 1-0 lead in the first chukker. BN Polo Team then made a tremendous comeback and in the second chukker thrashed in three back-to-back goals to have 3-1 edge.
BN Polo Team maintained their supremacy in the third chukker as well as they slammed in one more goal to further enhance their lead to 4-1.
The fourth and last chukker saw BN Polo Team adding one more goal in their total tally to further enhance it to 5-1 while Ravi Pipes succeeded in firing in one goal to reduce the margin to 5-2. When the final whistle was blown, the score was 5-2 while with two and a half goal handicap advantage for Ravi Pipes, the final score was 5-4.5 in favour of BN Polo Team.
Nicholas Scortichini and Azam Hayat Noon officiated the main final as field umpires while Shah Qublai Alam was match referee.
Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar graced the concluding ceremony as chief guest and distributed prizes and shields among the winners. Other notables present on the occasion were Lahore Polo Club President Malik Atif Yaar Tiwana, Executive Committee members Agha Murtaza Ali Khan, Usman Haye, Saqib Khan Khakwani, Agha Najeeb Raza, Secretary Col (R) Mudassar Sharif, members, their families and polo enthusiasts.
Earlier in the subsidiary final, ASC defeated PBG Risala by 6½-6. From ASC team, Raja Samiullah hit hat-trick while Eulogio Celestino and Col Tauseef scored one goal each. From PBG Risala, which had one and a half goal handicap, Nicholas cracked a quartet, while Captain Humair Ghazi and Ahmed Ali Tiwana hit one goal each.
