Fierce Battles On The Opening Day Of The Maharaja Hari Singh Memorial Cup 2018
The opening day of the Maharaja Hari Singh Memorial Cup 2018 gave rise to some exciting moments. Get an insight of all the matches with LA POLO.
24th October 2018 | Delhi,India
The first match of the Cup was played at 1:00 pm between Sona Polo and LA Pegasus Polo Knights at AEC Ground No. II. Sona Polo team played with Sunjay J Kapur (0), Nicholas Pepper (+4), Abhimanyu Pathak (+5) and Vishal Singh (+3). LA Pegasus Polo Knights had Dhananjay Singh (0), Mitesh Mehta (+1), Shamsheer Ali (+6) and Dhruvpal Godara (+5) playing for the team. Sona Polo played in black while LA Pegasus Polo Knights played in orange. The umpires of the match were Manolo Llorente and Angad Kalaan.
The match between LA Pegasus Polo Knights and Sona Polo was quite intense. A golden chukker was played to decide the winner of the match. The match started off with a goal from Dhananjay Singh for LA Pegasus Polo Knights polo team. Sona Polo replied back quickly with a goal. Nicholas Pepper scored for Sona Polo team. The score after Nicholas’ goal was 1 - 1. Only two goals were scored in the first chukker and the chukker ended on 1 -1.
Dhananjay Singh opened the scoring for the second chukker too. Mitesh Mehta scored just after Dhananjay’s goal to extend LA Pegasus Polo Knights’ lead. The score after Mitesh Mehta’s goal was 3 - 1. Abhimanyu Pathak scored a quick goal for Sona Polo team. Sona Polo team were behind by 3 - 2 after Abhimanyu’s goal. Shamsheer Ali scored a goal in the closing minutes of the chukker to extend LA Pegasus Polo Knights’ lead. Dhruvpal Godara missed 3 penalty shots in the first half. LA Pegasus Polo Knights were leading by 4 - 2 after the first half.
The third chukker was goalless. No team was able to score a goal in the third chukker. Vishal Singh missed a penalty in the third chukker. The score after the third chukker was 4 - 2 with LA Pegasus Polo Knights in the lead. The fourth chukker took unpredictable turns. Abhimanyu Pathak scored the first goal of the fourth chukker. He scored from a 30-yard penalty. The score was 4-3 after Abhimanyu’s goal. Vishal Singh scored the equalizer for Sona Polo just after Abhimanyu’s goal. Abhimanyu Pathak converted a 60-yard penalty to a goal and helped Sona polo get in the front. The score after Abhimanyu’s goal was 5 - 4 with Sona Polo in the lead. Dhruvpal Godara scored a goal in the closing minutes of the match to level the scores. The fourth chukker ended on a draw. The score after the fourth chukker was 5 - 5.
A golden chukker (5th chukker) was played to decide the winner of the match. In the golden chukker, the first team scoring the goal wins. Nicholas Pepper scored the goal in the golden chukker to help Sona Polo win the first match of the Maharaja Hari Singh Memorial Cup. Sona Polo beat LA Pegasus Polo knights by 6 - 5.
Hyderabad Chaughan faced Sahara Warriors in the second match of the day. The second match was played at 2:00 pm at AEC Ground No. II. Hyderabad Chaughan had Krishna Inkiya (+1), Hamza Ali (+3), Gaurav Sahgal+3) and Basheer Ali (+5) while Sahara Warriors played with Vandit Golecha (0), Pranav Kapur (+2), Salim Azmi (+3) and Matthew Philip Perry (+6). Manuel Llorente and Angad Kalaan were the umpires of the match. Hyderabad Chaughan Polo team played in white while Sahara Warriors played in blue. Sahara Warriors played with a +11 handicap in a 12-goal match and were awarded a 0.5 point lead before the match started.
The match started on a score of 0.5 - 0 with Sahara Warriors in the lead. Vandit Golecha scored the opening goal of the match to help Sahara Warriors extend their lead. The score after Vandit Golecha’s goal was 1. 5 - 0. Hyderabad Chaughan couldn’t score a goal in the first chukker. Sahara Warriors were in the lead after the first chukker by 1.5 - 0.
Basheer Ali made up for his penalty miss in the first half and scored the first goal of the second chukker and his team. The score was 1. 5 - 1 after Basheer Ali’s goal. Vandit Golecha scored another one for Sahara Warriors after Basheer’s goal. No more goals were scored in the second chukker. The first half ended with Sahara Warriors leading by 2.5 - 1.
The third chukker was quite intense and only two goals were scored in the chukker. Hamza Ali scored the first goal of the third chukker. Hyderabad Chaughans were now behind by 2.5 - 2. Vandit Golecha scored one more for his team to help them get in the lead. The score after Vandit Golecha’s goal was 3.5 - 2 with Sahara Warriors in the lead. The third chukker ended on the score of 3.5 - 2.
Matthew Philip Perry scored the only goal of the fourth chukker. The score after Matthew Perry’s goal was 4.5 - 2. Sahara Warriors won their first match of the Delhi Polo Season in style. The final score was 4.5 - 2.
The last match of the day saw LA Pegasus Polo Titans play against Jindal Panthers. The match was played at AEC Ground No. I at 3:30 pm. Jindal Panthers had Bhawani Singh Kalvi (+2), Tom Brodie (+4), Simran Singh Shergill (+6) and Naveen Jindal (0). LA Pegasus Polo Titans team comprised of TBA, Kartikeya Singh (0), Siddhant Sharma (+4) and Samir Suhag (+5). Jindal Panthers played in blue while LA Pegasus Polo Titans played in purple. The umpires of the match were Abhimanyu Pathak and Nicholas Pepper.
Naveen Jindal opened the scoring of the match. He scored a goal in the initial minutes of the match for Jindal Panther polo team. Samir Suhag quickly scored a goal for LA Pegasus Polo titans to level the scores. The score was 1 - 1 when Simran Singh Shergill missed a penalty. Samir Suhag scored a goal in the closing minutes of the game to help his team get in the front. The first chukker ended on a score of 2 - 1 with LA Pegasus Polo Titans in the lead.
Samir Suhag scored another one for his team in the opening minutes of the second chukker. The score after the Samir’s goal was 3 - 1. Simran Singh Shergill scored a stunner to help his team get back in the game. The score after Simran Singh Shergill’s goal was 3 - 2. Simran’s horse slipped and he fell off badly. The match was stopped because of Simran’s fall. Simran returned to play after treatment and the first half ended on a score of 3 - 2 with LA pegasus Polo titans in the lead.
Samir Suhag scored a goal in the opening minutes of the third chukker. LA Pegasus Polo Titans were leading after Samir’s goal by 4 - 2. Naveen Jindal scored a goal to help Jindal Panthers get close. The third chukker ended on a score of 4 - 3 with LA Pegasus Polo Titans in the lead.
Tom Brodie opened the fourth chukker with a goal. The score was levelled at 4 - 4 after Tom Brodie’s goal. The match was completely neck and neck. Simran missed a penalty from 60 yards. Just after Simran’s miss Samir Suhag was injured badly and had to be substituted. Akshay Malik came in place of Naveen Jindal for Jindal Panther Polo team and Naveen Singh came in place of Samir Suhag for LA Pegasus Polo Titans. The substitute Akshay Malik scored a goal in the closing minutes of the game to help Jindal Panther win the match. Jindal Panther won the last match of the day by 5 - 4.
