BN Polo and Master Paints/Newage Cables breezed into the main final of the Century Ventures National Open Polo Championship for Quaid-e-Azam Gold Cup 2023 after winning their respective semifinals played here at Lahore Polo Club on Friday.
High-flying Hamza helps BN Polo beat Diamond Paints by 9-6
In the first semifinal, BN Polo defeated Diamond Paints 9-6. From BN Polo, Hamza Mawaz Khan played tremendous polo and smashed in superb six goals while Juan Ruiz Guinazu hammered a hat-trick. For Diamond Paints, Chulo Corti thrashed in three goals while Nico Roberts banged in a brace and Mir Huzaifa Ahmed scored one goal.
BN Polo began the match with two back-to-back goals to gain a 2-0 lead, while Diamond Paints also struck one to reduce the margin to 2-1. They played well in the second chukker by banging in a brace against one by BN Polo to level the score at 3-3. Diamond Paints scored one more in the start of the third chukker to earn a 4-3 lead, but BN bounced back brilliantly by hammering a hat-trick to take a 6-4 lead.
Both the teams converted one goal each in the fourth chukker, with BN still enjoying a 7-5 lead while in the fifth and decisive chukker, BN Polo scored two goals against one by Diamond Paints to win the match by 9-6.
Simon Prada shines in Master Paints/New win against Master Paints
In the second semifinal of the day, Master Paints/Newage Cables beat Master Paints by 7-6. From Master Paints/Newage Cables, Simon Prada did the magic with mallet and polo pony and slammed in all seven goals. For Master Paints, Manuel Crespo pumped in three goals while Pelayo Berrazadi banged in a brace and Agha Musa Ali Khan struck one goal.
Both the teams were off to a flying start as they thrashed in two goals each to level the score at 2-2. The second chukker was also evenly poised but this time, they scored one goal each to equalize the score at 3-3. Master Paints/Newage played better polo in the third chukker by hammering two goals against one by Master Paints to get a slight 5-4 edge but in the very next chukker, Master Paints converted one to level the score at 5-5.
Master Paints/Newage once against took a 6-5 lead in the beginning of the fifth chukker, which couldn’t last long as Master Paints also scored an equalizer to make it 6-6. In the dying moments of the match Simon Prada smashed in the match-winning goal to steer Master Paints/Newage to a thrilling 7-6 victory.
SUNDAY’S FXIXTURES: Thus, the final will be played on Sunday (March 19) between BN Polo and Master Paints/Newage Cables while DS Polo will compete against FG Polo in the subsidiary final.
MATCHES SUMMARY
1ST SEMIFINAL: BN POLO 9-6 DIAMOND PAINTS
BN POLO: Hamza Mawaz Khan 6, Juan Ruiz Guinazu 3. Total: 9.
DIAMOND PAINTS: Chulo Corti 3, Nico Roberts 2, Mir Huzaifa Ahmed 1. Total: 6.
UMPIRES: John Fisher & Chris Hyde.
2ND SEMIFINAL: MASTER PAINTS/NEWAGE CABLES 7-6 MASTER PAINTS
MASTER PAINTS/NEWAGE CABLES: Simon Prada 7. Total: 7.
MASTER PAINTS: Manuel Crespo 3, Pelayo Berrazadi 2, Agha Musa Ali Khan 1. Total: 6.
UMPIRES: John Fisher & Chris Hyde.