by Peter Ibrahim Abisheganaden. Photos by Natasha Mustapha.
Royal Selangor Polo Club roared back in dramatic fashion from 1½ – 4 down in the second chukka to beat Royal Pahang 6½ – 6 in a thrilling final of the 14 goal RSPC-RMPA International League Polo Tournament held at the Royal Selangor Polo Club yesterday.
Mr Derek Elmer, the President and CEO of ASAP Asia took the salute from the players. Then the chief operating officer of ASAP Asia, Ms Meena Martin was accompanied to the side-line where she threw the ball in for the start of the match.
Royal Pahang got off to a fast start, scoring the first four goals of the match as Pueblo Gienazu and Ignacio Du Plassis took control early on. They were the early scorers as they whizzed past the 1 1/2 goals that Royal Selangor got on handicap. His Royal Highness Tengku Mahkota Pahang was also having a good game leading the attack of Royal Pahang.
Juan Roman was working away for Royal Selangor, helping Edham break up the Pahang interplay of Pueblo and Ignacio. They finally started to make up some ground in the 3rd chukka, getting to within a half goal at 3½ – 4 as Juan scored following up his own spot hit from 80 yards out. But Pueblo and Ignacio again combined for a lovely goal to restore Pahang’s 1½ goal cushion.
The polo was fast and furious, and the players were giving it their all. Pueblo Gienazu hit the deck and in true Latin style remonstrated dramatically with the players and umpires.
Dato’ Mohamed Moiz was galvanizing his Royal Selangor team. His +4 goal professionals Juan and Edham were working really hard, while Jake Daniels cut a lonely path up front. Moiz was leading by example, going in hard on every play. He stole the ball on a broken play in his own 60 and took it all the way and finishing with a near side neck shot to bring them back into the game. It finished 4½-5 at the end of third chukka.
The fourth chukka was just as dramatic as Pueblo again came down just as Juan took the ball the length of the field to score. There was a lengthy break as the ambulance came to Pueblo’s attention. But the score stood and RSPC were finally in front.
It was not for long as from the ensuing throw-in Tengku Shazril took the ball right around the entire field on the late Sariman’s pony “Matahari.” Pahang were in front again.
With the clock ticking down, it was Juan who again got control of the ball. He beat Pueblo and passed it to Edham who outran Ignacio and took it all the way to the goal.
That was it, as the hooter went to seal Royal Selangor’s victory. The team that didn’t win any matches in the 1st leg of the RMPA International League came back to win it on home ground.
In the match for 3rd and 4th place, Cameron Highlands showed how much they have improved as they easily held off Thailand Polo. They were always in control in a 10–5 victory that was celebrated for Brian Miller’s goal, Hiroshe Kume’s amazing reverse belly shot goal. Craig Wilson’s excellent play on Jemima earned the New Zealand chestnut mare the Best Playing Pony award. Jemima is owned by Brian and Maureen Miller and came from the Wilson’s polo farm in Waimai, New Zealand.
Ubarjarra Alves de Andrade Jr., again had an outstanding game. He scored four goals in the match, but it was his overall performance in the tournament that earned him the Most Valuable Player award.
The Brazilian was a gentleman on and off the field, a passionate, sensitive, determined and highly aggressive player who wore his heart on his sleeve. He lit up the tournament with his presence.
The Guest of Honour was the Minister of Federal Territories, Dato’ Zulhasnan Rafique. He presented the medals to the winning teams. Mr Derek Elmer presented the souvenirs to all players, the umpires Aaron Vowles and Simon McDonald, the wonderful commentator John Bell, and other volunteers. Mr Rakkesh Aggarwal of World Media Group presented the prizes for Best Playing Pony and Most Valuable Player.
It was a fantastic tournament. Sponsorship by the World Media Group, ASAP Asia and Network Security Solutions meant that there was good off-field entertainment. Melissa and the Misfits gave us a dance-band performance on Saturday night, while the Indonesian band Inferno rocked us last night.
The polo was the best we have seen at Royal Selangor in over a decade. All sides are very competitive; the difference between winning and losing is so very little.
It is reflected in the league table. Teams get 5 points for a league win, 3 points for 2nd, 2 points for 3rd place, a single point for 4th, and none for 5th or 6th. The league table as it stands now, with two tournaments played is as follows:
RMPA POLO LEAGUE STANDINGS SPC RSPC Royal
After 2 Tournaments Tournaments Cartier Int’l League Pahang Total
Team Played Int’l Tournament Classic Points
Royal Pahang Polo Club 2 3 3 6
Singapore Polo Club 2 5 0 5
Royal Selangor Polo Club 2 0 5 5
Cameron Highlands 2 2 2 4
Thailand Polo 2 1 1 2
Ranhill 2 0 0 0
It is very tight, with only two points separating the top four teams. Royal Pahang hosts the RMPA SEA International Polo League Final at the Royal Pahang Classic tournament from 19th to 27th August. It promises to be a thrilling climax to this year’s international polo league.
Text by Peter Ibrahim Abisheganaden, photos by Natasha Mustapha are copyright of Equestrian.Com.My