LAHORE – Master Paints/FG Polo lifted the Shaukat Khanum Pink Polo Cup after defeating Diamond Paints/FG Polo by 11½-8 in the final played here at Jinnah Polo and Country (JP&CC) on Sunday.
From Master Paints/FG Polo, which had one and a half goal handicap advantage, Mannuel Carranza emerged as star of the day with excellent eight-goal tally while Ahmed Ali Tiwana contributed with a brace. From Diamond Paints/FG Polo, Tom Brodie smashed in superb six goals while Mir Huzaifa Ahmed and Abbas Mukhtar converted one goal each. Both the sides started the final at high pace and matched fire-with-fire in the first chukker, making it 2-all. In the dying moments of the chukker, Master Paints took a slight 3-2 lead. Diamond Paints made it 3-all in the beginning of the second chukker, but Master Paints then dominated the entire chukker hammering a hat-trick to gain 6-3 lead. Diamond Paints also made a comeback by banging in two back-to-back goals, making it 6-5 but Master Paints scored one goal to finish enhance their lead to 7-5.
The fourth and decisive chukker proved to be enthralling one, where both the sides gave tough times to each other especially Diamond Paints made a good comeback, hammering a hat-trick to gain 8-7 lead but Master Paints regained their lost touch and struck a hat-trick to finish the final, having 10-8 lead. With one and a half goal handicap advantage, Master Paints won the final 11½-8. Rulo Trotz and Amirreza Behboudi were field umpires.
Shaukat Khanum Interim CEO Dr Asim Yousaf graced the final as chief guest and handed over coveted trophy and medals to the winners. Other notables present there were JP&CC President Lt Col (r) Shoaib Aftab, Secretary Maj (r) Babar Mahboob Awan and others.
