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Asia, Polo News

Early Wins for Bangash Polo and Ghantoot Polo Teams at the IFZA Gold Cup 2021

17. February 2021

16 February 2021, Dubai, UAE: The IFZA Gold Cup 2021 kicked off to a blistering start having four teams compete on the first day of the tournament.

The first match of the tournament showed strong gameplay from Bangash Polo team with the opening goal from Benjamin Panelo followed by another from its Patron – Haider Bangash. The following chukkers saw IFZA-Mahra Polo team struggle to close in on the 5 goal lead of Bangash by halftime. The golden chukker for IFZA-Mahra Polo was on the fourth as the team demonstrated an amazing comeback with 4 consecutive goals from Isidro Strada and the scores were tied at 8 goals. The last chukker was a race for the win with Bangash Polo team defending and extending their lead until the end at 12 goals to 9.

Match Progression: 2 – 1 | 5 – 2 | 8 – 3 | 8 – 8 | 12 – 9
Top Scorer: Benjamin Panelo, 7 goals

Ghantoot Polo‘s debut game in the Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series 2021 was against Habtoor Polo. The first chukker was on almost equal footing having 2 goals each from Facundo Sola and Nasser Al Shamsi and a penalty goal from Pablo Llorente. Ghantoot Polo took off at the second chukker with 3 goals from Marcos Araya and they kept their lead until halftime.

With 7 minutes left on the clock, Habtoor Polo tried to close the gap in scores but was maintained by Ghantoot Polo as they delivered runaway goals that sealed their first win in the tournament.

Match Progression: 3 – 2 | 6 – 3 | 8 -5 | 9 – 6 | 12 – 9
Top Scorers: Marcos Araya & Facundo Sola, 6 goals

The IFZA Gold Cup 2021 will continue on the 17th of February on Field 3 with a match between Dubai Wolves by CAFU and Zedan Polo teams at 14:00 followed by UAE Polo and Abu Dhabi teams at 16:00.

Images: Tony Belot and Khalil Ali / ShineTV

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16 February 2021, Dubai, UAE: The IFZA Gold Cup 2021 kicked off to a blistering start having four teams compete on the first day of the tournament. The first match…

Asia, Polo News

UAE Polo Claims the Polo Masters Cup 2021

15. February 2021

12 February 2021, Dubai, UAE: The second tournament of the Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series declared its new champion on the grounds of Al Habtoor Polo Resort and Club.

With a total of eight participating teams, the tournament concluded with Bin Drai Polo team against Altamira Polo team at the Subsidiary Final and, UAE Polo against Battistoni at the Final.

Bin Drai Polo team had taken the lead early with two goals from Rashid Bin Drai. Altamira shortened the gap in scores by the end of the second chukker with goals from Santos Iriarte and Guillermo Cuitinho. However, Bin Drai carved a two-goal advantage by the end of the penultimate chukker which was enough to seal the win at 5 goals to 4.

Match Progression: 2 – 0 | 3 – 2 | 5 – 3 | 5 – 4

The Final Match saw two teams rush to score the first goal on the first chukker with Tomy Iriarte breaking the lead for Battistoni Polo team on the next chukker. This initial lead was beaten with three consecutive goals from Benjamin Panelo shifting the lead to UAE Polo team by halftime. The penultimate chukker saw excellent goals from both teams courtesy of Rashid Al Abbar for UAE Polo and two back to back goals, mid-field, from Raja Abuljebain for Battistoni.

With a two-goal lead at the beginning of the last chukker, Battistoni raced for the win. However, the penalty shot from Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the last goal from Lucas Monteverde Jr. closed the game with a 3.5 goal lead for UAE Polo and ultimately winning the Polo Masters Cup 2021.

Match Progression: 0 – 0 | 3 – 1.5 | 6 – 4.5 | 8 – 4.5

Mohammed Al Habtoor, Vice Chairman and CEO of Al Habtoor Group awarded the teams with Raja Albujebain as the Most Valuable Player and Cynthia, ridden by Benjamin Panelo, as the Best Playing Pony.