LAHORE – Diamond Paints retained the 2nd Jinnah Gold Polo Cup after trouncing DS Polo/Rizvi’s by 14-9 in the main final played here at the Jinnah Polo Fields on Sunday.
Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar graced the final as a chief guest and he, along with Master Paints Director Farooq Amin Sufi, distributed prizes and shields among the winners and top performers. Other prominent ones present on the occasion were renowned singer Ali Zafar, Master Paints Directors Sufi Muhammad Amin, Sufi Muhammad Haris, Sufi Muhammad Amir, Sufi Muhammad Farrukh, Farooq Amin Sufi, Sufi Muhammad Haroon, Sufi Muhammad Hashim, Sufi Muhammad Umair, Sufi Muhammad Uzair, JPF President Lt Col (R) Shoaib Aftab, Secretary General Maj (R) Babar Mahboob Awan, national and international players, their families and polo enthusiasts.
High-flying Guy Gibrat’s heroics helped Diamond Paints outsmart DS Polo/Rizvi’s by a huge margin of 14-9. Guy Gibrat did magic with mallet and pony and smashed in excellent eight goals while Ahmed Ali Tiwana fired in four fantastic goals and Matias Vial Perez banged in a beautiful brace. From team DS Polo/Rizvi’s, Max Charlton slammed in fabulous five goals while Hissam Ali Haider Hyder cracked a quartet.
DS Polo/Rizvi’s were off to a flying start as they thrashed in two back-to-back goals to earn a 2-0 lead. Diamond Paints then converted one to reduce the margin to 2-1 but once again DS Polo/Rizvi’s hit one to enhance their lead to 3-1. Diamond Paints then changed their game plan and started playing aggressive game, which helped them fire in four back-to-back goals to get 5-3 lead.
The second chukker was evenly poised as both the sides slammed in two goals each to make it 7-5. Diamond Paints played better polo in the third chukker by converting four goals against two by DS Polo/Rizvi’s to further stretch their lead to 11-7. Diamond Paints continued to dominate in the fourth and last chukker by thrashed in three goals against two by their opponents to win the title clash by 14-9.
Earlier, the subsidiary final between HN Polo and Master Paints proved to be a thrilling encounter and after a tough fight, HN Polo won the nail-biting match by 6-5. Titu Ruiz Guinaziu emerged as hero of the day for HN Polo as he hammered five superb goals while Babar Naseem converted one. From team Master Paints, Marcos Panelo though played well and pumped in all the five goals yet his efforts proved futile in the end.
Master Paints started the match well and slammed in two goals in the first chukker and one in the beginning of the second chukker to have 3-0 lead. HN Polo then made their presence felt by converting field goal to make it 3-1. The third chukker saw HN Polo continuing to stamp their authority and cracking two more goals to level the score at 3-3 but Master Paints bounced back in style and thrashed in two back-to-back goals to get back 5-3 lead. HN Polo then started playing aggressive game and pumped in three back-to-back goals to win the subsidiary final by a narrow margin of 6-5.
Speaking on the occasion, Diamond Paints CEO and winning team captain Mir Shoaib Ahmed said: “First of all, I am grateful to Almighty that we succeeded in defending our title. We worked really hard for it and the team work and collective efforts helped us did it again. I am also thankful to lively Lahoris, who came in great number to witness the enthralling and exciting final.”
