Newage Cables/Master Paints and Master Paints won the opening day matches of the Ittehad Punjab Polo Cup 2022 here at the Lahore PoloClub (LPC) ground on Tuesday.
The inaugural match of the historical polo eventbetween Newage Cables/Master Paints and HN Poloproved to be a nail-biting encounter, where both the sides gave tough time to each other and finished the fourth chukker at 3-3 and then it was decided in the sudden death chukker, where Vieri Antonori smashed in the match-winning goal to guide Newage Cables/Master Paints to a thrilling 4-3 triumph.
Gonzalo Deltour played outstanding polo and amused the spectators with his marvelous mallet and horse work. His contribution of three tremendous goals made him hero of the day for Newage Cables/Master Paints. His teammates Vieri Antinori, who converted the remaining one goal, Adnan Jalil Azam and Raja Temur Nadeem also played superbly and played key role in their team’s victory.
On the other hand, HN Polo players also fought well and matched fire-with-fire till the end, but they couldn’t finish well and guide their side to victory. Juan Maria Ruiz and Hilario Ruiz were the contributors from HN Polo, who converted two and one goal respectively.
The second match of the opening day was also a thrilling match, where Master Paints had to struggle hard to overcome spirited Pebble Breaker/Colony Polo with a narrow margin of 7-6.
Both the teams had a close fight in each and every chukker and till the fourth and last chukker, it was anyone’s match, but Master Paints comparatively played better polo and emerged as winner with a close margin of 7-6.
Marcos Penalo emerged as star of the opening day for Master Paints as he displayed tremendous polo skills and techniques and fired in fabulous four goals from the winning side. He was ably assisted by his teammates Sufi Muhammad Haroon, Martin Carlos and especially by Bilal Haye, who thrashed in three impressive goals and guided Master Paints to a well-deserving 7-6 victory.
The players of Pebble Breaker/Colony Polo also played outstanding polo and matched fire-with-fire till the last chukker, but they failed to finish the encounter in favour of their side. Julio Novillo Astrada made a major contribution of three goals from the losing side while Mohsin Atta Khan Khosa contributed with two goals and Ramiro Zavalette one.
Tomorrow (Wednesday), two more matches will be played. Diamond Paints will vie against Remounts in the first encounter of the day at 2:00 pm while the second encounter of the day will be contested between Barry’s and DS Polo/Rizvi’s at 3:00 pm.