Team Hurun Report at its best

A report by Tracey Sherran.
On the 25th October, the Hurun Report polo team triumphed over their arch-rivals, Noblesse in the Nine Dragons Hill Gold Cup, adding to the Consul General’s Polo Cup title that they won earlier this year. The final match was another enthralling encounter between the two teams, with Hurun Report coming out on top with an ultimately convincing 7-5 win.
The two day 6 goal tournament was attended by the cream of Shanghai’s business and society leaders, who came to “see and be seen” at the beautiful Nine Dragons Hill Polo Club, located on the coast in Pingu, south of Shanghai. Nine Dragons Hill is the only polo club in the Shanghai area and was the first polo club in China to host international standard polo tournaments.

For the Shanghai Gold Cup, each team was made up of two international professionals and two local Chinese players. The final match was a close-run affair during the first two chukkas, with both teams trading blows and leaving the scores finely balanced at 3-3. Having battled to eliminate the ShuiJingFang and DI teams the previous day, neither side was in the mood to lie down, producing a thrilling and often fiery contest.

The decisive period came at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth chukka, when the Hurun Report team were able to blast their way to an unassailable 7-4 lead, spearheaded by inspired performances from the Argentine duo of Tommy Martinez and Federico Alonso.
Despite a late goal from the Noblesse team, the outcome of the contest was never in question and the Hurun Report team saw out the final moments of the game with ease to lift the trophy for the first time. Hurun Report Chairman Rupert Hoogewerf said, “We are delighted to continue supporting the development of polo in China. We are also delighted to become the first team to win both the Gold Cup and Consul General’s Cup in one year.”