Home team win the Gold
Local team Team CBC Sporthas won the CBC Sport Arena Polo World Cup Final in Baku, by defeating Team Azersun from St. Moritz, Switzerland with a very clear result of 11½-5.
The two final teams had both won their first matches of the tournament on Friday. On Saturday they met for the first time, with the Azeri local team, CBC Sport emerging victorious, 7½-4. In the Subsidiary Final, Team Improtex Motors from the USA met Team Pasha Private Banking from Monte-Carlo. The Americans were able to take advantage of Team Pasha Private Banking’s mistakes finishing the match with a 6½-3 win.
The 2017 CBC Sport Arena Polo World Cup Azerbaijan was bigger and better than ever before, with a new glamorous look and significantly bigger VIP area than previous years.
General Elcin Guliyev, President of ARAF was delighted to welcome the international polo community to the vibrant city of Baku for the fifth time. The tournament, which was launched in 2013, is now at a point of huge international interest. He said, “Due to the fact that the Azerbaijan State and the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, have paid great attention to the development of sports in our country, we are now in a great position for this tournament. The victory of the Azeri team at the Arena Polo Championship in 2015 was the first continental championship in Azerbaijan’s sport history. I would like to express my deep gratitude to all sponsors and organisational staff, who supported the tournament and worked with great energy and competence in order to present the competition at the highest level.”
With CBC Sport as a title sponsor, live coverage of all the matches was streamed on Azeri TV with millions of viewers taking advantage. Last year, tournament organiser Reto Gaudenzi, launched the unique ‘Baku Moritz Polo Night’, where he brought together two polo locations for the first time: Baku and his birthplace St. Moritz in Switzerland. In 2016, the legendary Hotel Badrutt’s Palace from St. Moritz was in charge of the VIP catering together with the local caterer from Elite Horse & Polo Club. This year, the ‘Baku Moritz Polo Night’ was again the highlight of the social programme and was held on Saturday 9 September.
The 5th CBC Sport Arena Polo World Cup Azerbaijan Teams (including reserves):
Improtex Motors: Melissa Ganzi, Juan Bollini & Tito Gaudenzi
CBC Sport: Elchin Jamalli, Rashad Hasanov, Ali Rzayev , Amil Namazov & Tarlan Gurbanaliyev
Pasha Private Banking: Rommy Gianni, Chris Hyde & Giles Greenwood
Azersun: Zhanna Bandurko, Raya Sidorenko, Martin de Estrada & Santiago de Estrada
Photograph: Home team, Azersun won the 2017 CBC Sport Arena Polo World Cup Azerbaijan. By ©www.imagesofpolo.com