LAHORE:Diamond Paints and Barry’s carved out contrasting victories in the Ittehad Punjab Polo Cup 2022 matches here at the Lahore Polo Club ground on Wednesday.
The first match of the day was dominated by Diamond Paints, who overpowered Remounts by 7-4.5. From team Diamond Paints, Guy Gibrat emerged as top scorer with fabulous four goals’ contribution while Ahmad Ali Tiwana banged in a brace and Saqib Khan Khakwani converted one. Mir Shoaib Ahmed also played well and provided great support to the entire team. From Remounts, which had a half goal handicap advantage, Imran Shahid and Nico Roberts contributed with a brace each but their efforts couldn’t bear fruit for their side.
Diamond Paints were off to a flying start as they thrashed in two back-to-back goals to gain a good 2-0 lead in the first chukker. Remounts started the match well in the second chukker to make it 2-1. But Diamond Paints converted one more goal to enhance their lead to 3-1. Diamond Paints continued their dominance in the third chukker and banged in a brace against one goal by Remounts to further stretch their lead to 5-2. Remounts began the fourth and last chukker with two back-to-back goals to reduce the margin to 5-4 but Diamond Paints bounced back in style and pumped in two back-to-back goals to win the match by 7-4.5.
The second match of the day proved to be a thrilling encounter, where Barry’s edged out DS Polo/Rizvi’s by 8-7. From Barry’s, Ernesto Trotz, Hamza Mawaz Khan emerged as stars of the day as both played outstanding polo and hammered a hat-trick each while his teammates Horacio Carlos (2 goals) and Nafees Barry also played well from the winning team.
From DS Polo/Rizvi’s, the major contribution came from Max Charlton, who smashed in superb six goals while Hissam Ali Hyder converted one but their efforts proved futile in the end. Hamza Mawaz Khan was declared most valuable player of the match.
DS Polo/Rizvi’s opened their account in the first chukker with a field goal to take 1-0 lead. The second chukker was then dominated by Barry’s, who hammered a hat-trick against one goal by DS Polo/Rizvi’s to earn a healthy 3-2 lead. The third chukker was evenly poised as both the sides displayed high-quality polo skills and techniques and thrashed in three goals each with Barry’s still enjoying a slight 6-5 lead. The fourth and last chukker also saw both the sides equally playing well and converting two goals each, with Barry’s winning the match with a close margin of 8-7.