LAHORE – Master Paints and SQ Seagold emerged victorious in the 3rd Allama Iqbal Polo Tournament sponsored by Lahore Smart City here at the Jinnah Polo Fields on Wednesday.
The first match of the second day proved a nail-biting encounter, where Master Paints team defeated Platinum Homes/Master Paints by a narrow margin of 10-9. Platinum Homes/Master Paints were enjoying an 8-2 lead after two chukkers, but Master Paints played brilliantly in the third and fourth chukkers and edged past Platinum Homes/Master Paints by a close margin of 10-9.
Raja Temur Nadeem was the hero of the day from the winning side as he smashed in six superb goals while Shah Qubilai Alam thrashed in three tremendous goals and Farooq Amin Sufi struck one. From the losing side, Amirreza Behboudi fired in five fantastic goals while Sufi Muhammad Haroon and Agha Musa Ali Khan banged in a brace each.
Platinum Homes/Master Paints dominated the match right from the word go as they fired in five goals against one by Master Paints to gain 5-1 lead. They maintained their dominance in the second chukker and thrashed in three goals against one by Master Paints to stretch their lead to 8-2. Master Paints then made a tremendous comeback and banged in a brace against one by their opponents to reduce the margin to 4-9. The fourth and last chukker was fully dominated by Platinum Homes/Master Paints, as they hammered five fabulous goals to win the match by 10-9.
The second match of the day saw SQ Seagold polo team defeating 4 Corps polo team by 7-5. Raja Jalal Arsalan and Omer Asjad Malhi from SQ Seagold team played brilliantly. Despite falling twice, Raja Jalal Arsalan cracked a classic quartet while Omer Asjad Malhi scored a brilliant brace and Bilal Hayat Noon struck one goal. Raja Mikael Sami hammered a hat-trick of goals from team 4 Corps while the remaining two were converted by Ibrahim Khalil.
4 Corps started the match in great style as they scored two back-to-back goals to gain a 2-0 lead. The second chukker was evenly poised as both the sides struck two goals each with 4 Corps still enjoying 4-2 lead. The third chukker was dominated by SQ Seagold by hammering a hat-trick of goals to take 5-4 lead. In the fourth and last chukker, SQ Seagold thrashed in two goals against one by 4 Corps to win the match by 7-5.
Jinnah Polo Fields President Lt Col Shoaib Aftab (R), Secretary Major Ali Taimur (R), polo families and a large number of spectators were present on the occasion to witness and enjoy the exciting and enthralling matches played on the second of the prestigious tournament.
