IPA National Open Championship entered in the first day of action with Sahara Warriors playing against Jindal Panther/Garcha Lions. An intense match on a Sunny day, the opening day was a treat for the players and the spectators. Sahara Warriors played with Col Ravi Rathore (+5), Pranav Kapur (+2), Salim Azmi (+3) and Matthew Perry (+6). Jindal Panther/Garcha Lions on the other hand played with Satinder Garcha (+2), Simran Singh Shergill (+6), Raul R Laplacette (+6) and Naveen Jindal. Jindal Panther/Garcha Lions played with a +14 handicap while Sahara Warriors played with a +16 handicap. The match started at 2:30 pm at Jaipur Polo Ground, Delhi. The umpires for today’s match were Julio Bensadon and Siddhanth Sharma.
The match began with a quick goal by Sahara Warriors. A wonderful play led the ball into the goal. Sahara Warriors were ahead by 1 – 0. The play was stable at 1 – 0 for some time when Pranav Kapur hit the ball towards his goal. Naveen Jindal quickly reacted to it and sent the ball inside the goal. It was Jindal Panther/Garcha Lions’ first goal. The score was 1 – 1 after Naveen Jindal’s goal. Sahara Warriors were awarded a 60’ penalty in the final minutes of the first chukker. Matthew Perry hit the ball really hard and it was the second goal for Sahara Warriors. The first chukker ended with Sahara Warriors in the lead by 2 – 1.
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Matthew Perry opened the third chukker with a brilliant goal. The match was levelled at 4 – 4 after Matthew Perry’s goal. Col Ravi Rathore initiated a fantastic play along with Matthew Perry and Salim Azmi. It was a fantastic play that ended with Col Ravi Rathore’s goal. The score was 5 – 4 after a brilliant goal by Col R@avi Rathore. Salim Azmi made a brilliant run from the right, but a goal line stop by Satinder Garcha denied him the goal. The score after the third chukker was 5-4 with Sahara Warriors in the lead.
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Sahara Warriors were on a roll in the fourth chukker of the game. Matthew Perry opened the chukker with a goal scored from a powerful shot. Pranav Kapur made a fantastic run from the right, got past all the Jindal Panther/Garcha Lions’ defenders and passed a brilliant ball to Col Ravi Rathore. Col Ravi Rathore tapped in the ball and the LA POLO scoreboard showed 7-4 in favour of Sahara Warriors. Col Ravi Rathore was in a splendid form today. He scored one more goal in the finishing minutes of the chukker and extended Sahara Warriors’ lead. The score was 8-4 after the fourth chukker.
