The January flurry of polo competition continued at the Nairobi Polo Club this past weekend with the Soldier’s Salute Polo tournament.
Nairobi Polo Club Vice Chairman, Fred Kambo, observed that the level of competition had been quite high in the past couple of weekends, with players playing higher than their handicap on paper. “For a two-goal tournament, we are playing extremely well, and we hope to see more top platers come out as we close out the month.”
Samurai was in fine fettle, trouncing Team 24:7 7′-3 in the final. Louis Roumeguere and Raphael Nzomo, playing off handicap 0.5 and 2.5 respectively were top scorers in the match, scoring a hat-trick of goals apiece, with Hiromi Nzomo rounding off the scoring.
Phillip Arunga (Handicap 2) of Team 24:7 was in fine form throughout the tournament, but it was not enough to scrape up a result in the final. On the scoresheet for 24:7 were himself, Justin Camm (1) and Silke Hampson (-0.5).
In the Round Robin section of the tournament, Team Ultimate Security pipped Team Tusker Malt by a fraction to win 1′-1 in Game 1, courtesy of goals from Natasha Tisminieszky (0.5) and Vishal Somaia (2) for Team Ultimate and Team Tusker Malt respectively.
Tournament convener Major (Rtd.) Jamie Hayward waxed lyrical about the standard of play in this year’s Soldier Salute, calling it “the best so far.” The Soldier’s Salute is a tribute to the hospitality that Hayward received from the Nairobi Polo Club throughout his time here in Kenya, and to Kenyan polo in general, whose upward trajectory is remarkable. He mentioned a special appreciation to Tusker Malt and all the sponsors who provide a platform for platy to go on as it has done in the month of January.
The curtain falls on the flurry of polo action that we have seen throughout the month of January, with the Chairman’s Cup. This will be a two-day tournament on the 29th and 30th of January 2021 at the Nairobi Polo Club.