12 teams from around the world vie for the world championship at Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club from Jan 25 – Feb 3
The Fortune Heights Snow Polo World Cup 2013 (“Snow Polo World Cup”) continued into the fourth day at Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club (“Metropolitan Polo Club”). Snow Polo World Cup is one of the major events on the world polo calendar, and is the largest snow polo tournament in the world. This is the second year running that Metropolitan Polo Club, the largest polo facility in China, has been chosen as the venue of this prestigious event. The tournament is hosted by the Equestrian Association of China and the Federation of International Polo (FIP), and is organized by the Tianjin Sports Bureau, the Hong Kong Polo Development and Promotion Federation (HKPDPF) and the Tianjin Polo Association, with support from various sponsors.
Twelve teams have been participating in this year’s tournament with handicaps ranging from 14 to 16 goals, making this the world’s premier snow polo event. The teams, selected in cooperation with the Federation of International Polo, represent 9 out of the top 10 polo countries. Countries represented are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, England, France, Hong Kong China, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA.
In the qualifying matches, which have taken place during the first 4 days of the tournament, the teams have been divided into groups of 3 teams. Each team played the other 2 teams in their respective group, with the top 2 teams in each group moving
forward to the Quarter Finals. Yesterday saw the USA knocked out after 2 consecutive defeats against the mallets of England and New Zealand. Three other teams secured their places in the Quarter Final: Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa. The qualifying round continued today, in three “move forward or go home” matches.
The day began with 2 Latin American teams, Brazil and Chile, facing off on a chilling winter day, in stark contrast to the warm summer weather they left behind 2 weeks ago in their home countries.
The crowds were treated to an adrenalin-pumping roller-coaster of a match. The first chukka at times resembled a horse race, the ball being repeatedly driven up and down field on powerful forward swings, with the players frantically riding in pursuit. The Chilean team at first appeared to have the edge over Brazil, allowing them to establish a 2 goal lead. In a dramatic turn, Brazil swept through the Chileans in the second chukka, developing a rhythm that appeared to leave the Chileans in shock and disarray as they equalized the score within the initial 2 minutes, going on to score an incredible total of 4 goals, while blocking every Chilean offense. But snow polo is an unpredictable game, and with Brazil possibly overspent from this whirlwind performance, their luck again shifted in the final chukka. Top scoring Brazilian Pedro Zacharias lost grip on his mallet early on, followed by a fall for team-mate Calao Mello, leaving him looking winded as he remounted to applause from the crowds. Chile took back 2 goals, but then with only 6 seconds remaining, Chile took their third goal of the chukka to screams of excitement from their supporters. This second win of the tournament sealed their place in the Quarter Finals against England.
The second match saw India play France, both of which had lost in their games against South Africa. France kept India scrambling in the first chukka, with a torrent of 4 goals, and some of the day’s most notable swings. India scored their first goal in the second 3/7 chukka, and admirably blocked a 30 yard penalty, briefly fueling speculation that they could make a come-back. India’s Basheer Ali scored a crowd pleasing goal on an almost impossible looking high angle shot in the final chukka, but ultimately India was not able to catch-up, and the match ended 5 goals to 2. France now moves forward to the Quarter Finals, in which they will play Argentina.
In the final match of the qualifying round, and what turned out the be the most tense match so far, Canada battled with Australia, both having previously lost in their matches against Argentina. With Australia playing a less restrained game than Canada, the Canada team scored 2 goals from penalty shots in the first chukka. Canada was awarded an additional penalty shot after Australia committed a technical foul by talking back against the umpire. Luckily for Australia, or perhaps due to the sportsmanship of the Canada team, this additional penalty shot went wide. The first chukka ended 2 goals to 1 in favor of Canada. The match continued with utmost determination from both teams into the second, with both teams notching up a single goal. The final chukka kept the crowds on their toes, looking for a clear victor, even as the match-play ended in a 3 goal to 3 draw.
Play then continued in a tense penalty shoot-out, first with 3 penalty shots per team, which resulted in a tie, and then moving into a “sudden-death” playoff, in which Australia finally missed their shot, giving Canada their place in the Quarter Finals. Canada will return to the snow on Thursday to play against South Africa.
The spectators and players will take a day to relax tomorrow, before returning on Wednesday, January 30 for the beginning of the 4-match Quarter Finals. Wednesday’s matches will be: New Zealand vs. Hong Kong China; and Chile vs. England.
Daily polo matches are being contested as follows:
Qualifying
Friday, 25 Jan 2013
Result: England vs USA 4-2
Hong Kong, China vs Brazil 7-4
South Africa vs India 7-3
Saturday, 26 Jan 2013
Result: Argentina vs Canada 6-3
England vs New Zealand 2-4
Hong Kong, China vs Chile 2-3
Sunday, 27 Jan 2013
Result: South Africa vs France 4-3
Argentina vs Australia 3-2
USA vs New Zealand 1-4
Monday, 28 Jan 2013
Result: Brazil vs Chile 4-5
India vs France 2-5
Canada vs Australia 3-3 (Penalty 2:1)
Wednesday, 30 Jan 2013
Quarter-Finals 1: New Zealand vs Hong Kong Quarter-Finals 2: Chile vs England
Thursday, 31 Jan 2013
Quarter-Finals 3: South Africa vs Canada Quarter-Finals 4: Argentina vs France
Information on Fortune Heights Snow Polo World Cup 2013
Gate opens: 11.30am
Match Time: 1pm to 4pm
Address: 16 Hai Tai Hua Ke Ju Lu Bin Hai Gao Xin Qu, Tianjin 300384, China
Enquiry: (86) 22 2372 8877
Official website: snowpoloworldcup.com