LAHORE: Diamond Paints/Sheikhoo Steel and Remounts recorded convincing victories in the Coca-Cola Lahore Open Polo Championship 2022 matches played here at Lahore Polo Club on Thursday.
Nicolas Antinori excelled in Diamond Paints/Sheikhoo Steel’s 7-4 triumph over Zacky Farms/Kalabagh in the first match of the day.
Argentinian player Nicolas Antinori was the hero of the day as he fired in fabulous four goals while Omar Asjad Malhi banged in a beautiful brace and Osman Aziz Anwar converted one goal from the winning side. Raja Jalal Arsalan also fought well for Zacky Farms/Kalabagh and hammered impressive three goals while Maisam Haider Baloch contributed with one goal.
The match started on high pace as both the sides matches matched fire-with-fire and thrashed in two goals each to take 2-0 lead. The second chukker saw Diamond Paints/Sheikhoo showing their class and taking a slight 4-3 lead and then completely dominating the third chukker by hammering a hat-trick to gain a healthy 7-3 lead.
Zacky Farm/Kalabagh though converted one in the fourth and last chukker yet it proved too little too late for them as Diamond Paints/Sheikhoo Steel won the encounter by 7-4. Jhon Fisher and Hamza Mawaz Khan officiated the match as field umpires.
Remounts dominated the second match of the day by outsmarting Platinum Homes with a good margin of 10-6, thanks to Raja Temur Nadeem for fabulous five-goal contribution. The other key contributors from the winning side were Imran Shah and Sawar Naeem, who banged in a brace each while Major Haseeb Minhas (R) scored one goal.
From team Platinum Homes, Amirreza Behboudi though played excellent polo and smashed in all the six goals yet, his efforts proved futile in the end as his team had to face 6-10 defeat at the hands of Remounts.
Remounts dominated the match right from the word go as they first took 3-0 lead by the end of the first chukker and then maintained their supremacy in the second chukker as by hammering another hat-trick of goals against two by Platinum Homes to enhance their lead to 6-2.
The third chukker was evenly poised as both the sides added two goals each in their tally, with Remounts still enjoying 8-4 lead. The fourth and last chukker was identical to the third one as once again, both the teams converted a brace each with Remounts emerging as winners with a margin of 10-6. Jhon Fisher and Manuel Carranza supervised the match as field umpires.
Today (Friday), two more matches will be contested. The first match of the day will be played at 2:00 pm between Barry’s/DS Polo and Newage Cables/Master Paints while the second match of the day will take place at 3:00 pm between Diamond Paints and Master Paints Black here at the Lahore Polo Club ground.
