LAHORE – Diamond Paints and Newage Cables/Master Paints entered the main finals of the 1st President of Pakistan National Open Polo Championship 2022 sponsored by MidCity after winning their respective semifinals here at the Jinnah Polo Fields on Friday.
Heroics of Guy Gibrat and Max Charlton helped Diamond Paints hammer Remounts by 8-5 in the first semifinal of the day. Both the heroes of the day did the magic with mallets and polo ponies and hammered a hat-trick each. Ahmed Ali Tiwana was the other key contributor from the winning side as he contributed with two goals each. From Team Remounts, Simon Prado fired in four goals while Mumtaz Abbas Niazi scored one goal.
Diamond Paints dominated the match right from the word go as they pumped in two goals each in the first and second chukkers to gain a healthy 4-0 lead. Remounts made their presence felt in the third chukker by banging in a brace to make it 4-2 yet Diamond Paints once again had an upper hand as they thrashed in three goals to gain a healthy 7-2 lead. The fourth chukker was evenly poised as both the sides struck one goal each with Diamond Paints still enjoying 8-3 lead. Remounts though made a good comeback by thrashing in two goals yet it was too little situation for Remounts, as they lost the crucial semifinal by 5-8.
The day’s second match was a nail-biting encounter where Newage Cables/Master Paints held their nerves and overcame spirited Master Paints by a narrow margin of 9-8. Gonzalo Deltour played the heroes’ role in Newage Cables/Master Paints triumph by converting superb seven goals out of total nine. The remaining two goals were pumped in by Vieri Antinori. For Master Paints, Marcos Panelo fired in five goals while Martin Carlos hammered a hat-trick.
Newage Cables/Master Paints were off to a flying start as they banged in a brace to gain 2-0 lead. Just before the end of the first chukker, Master Paints converted one to make it 2-1 and then slammed in one more in the beginning of the second chukker to draw the blood at 2-2. Newage then started aggressive polo which helped them thrash in three back-to-back goals to have a good 5-2 lead. Master Paints bounced back well and fired in four fabulous goals to take a slight 6-5 lead. Newage then converted a beautiful goal to level the score at 6-6.
Master Paints started the fourth chukker by pumping in a field goal to gain a slight 7-6 lead, which couldn’t last long as Newage first smashed in two back-to-back goals to have a slight 8-7 lead and then fired in another crucial goal to enhance their lead to 9-7. Master Paints though tried hard and succeeded in converting a spot penalty to reduce the margin to 9-8, but this was all that Master Paints could get from the match as they lost the semifinal by 8-9.
The main final of the 1st President of Pakistan National Open Polo Championship 2022 sponsored by MidCity will be contested between Diamond Paints and Newage Cables/Master Paints on Sunday.
