The Jaipur Polo Ground witnessed the tough battles of the semi finals of Sir Pratap Singh Cup 2018 at 1:30pm and 3:00pm respectively.
Jindal Panther/Garcha Lions vs LA Pegasus Polo
The team composition for the first match of the day was Mr. Satinder Garcha (+2), Mr. Simran Singh Shergill (+6), Mr. Raul R Laplacette(+6), and Mr. Naveen Jindal (0) for Jindal Panther /Garcha Lions, while LA Pegasus Polo was comprised of Mr. Dhananjay Singh (0), Mr. Siddhant Sharma (+4), Mr. Dhruvpal Godara(+5), and Mr. Samir Suhag (+5).
The second chukker of the match opened at a promising note for LA Pegasus Polo where Samir Suhag stroked a 40 yard penalty for the team. LA Pegasus Polo had started to give a competition to the opponent team. After the penalty shot, the game back in play once again. LA Pegasus Polo took hold of the ball but were counter attacked by Simran. Tapping the ball Simran took it ahead passing it to his team player Raul but lost the hold of the ball. At the same time, Dhruvpal came in and chased the ball. Keeping hold of the ball, he took the to strike another goal for the team. LA Pegasus Polo still in action, defended the opponent team from grabbing the ball but still they had a competitive pace. Even though complimenting the earlier scores, Siddhant Sharma took a clean shot just when it was believed that the team is going to lose the chance of scoring a leading goal. The chukker wrapped at 3-4, where Jindal Panther / Garcha Lion could not make any chance in their scores.
The next chukker got into action and started off with Samir Suhag striking a goal for the team. The team defended Jindal Panther /Garcha Lions so well that it was very hard for them to strike any goal. So much so that for a minute the ball just kept dodging between Samir Suhag, Siddhant Sharma and Dhruvpal Godara who saved Simran's and Raul's back hand attack. But still managing it well Raul made way to secure the fourth score for the team. The relief of decreasing the gap was short lived as Siddhant Sharma took another chance and stroked the sixth goal for LA Pegasus Polo. By the end of the chukker the scores were 4-6.
The fourth and fifth chukker were almost the same. Both the chukker saw one goal from each team. But by the end of the fourth chukker the fate of the game was already decided. The fourth chukker even though witnessed Raul striking the first goal but with Samir securing another goal managed to still maintain the gap. By the end of the fourth chukker the scores were 5-7. The next chukker saw Raul striking a penalty shot 30 bringing the score gap to a competitive one of 6-7, but with only a minute left the fate was still destined toward LA Pegasus Polo and they secured it with safety with Samir scoring a goal in the last seconds of the match. They won by 6-8.
An easy victory for Sona Polo in the Semi-finals
The second semi-final of the Sir Pratap Singh Cup saw Sahara Warriors play against Sona Polo. The match was held at 3:30 pm at the Jaipur Polo Ground, Delhi. Two of the best teams in the tournament were going head to head in the second semi-final. Col Ravi Rathore (+5), Mr Vandit Golecha (0), Mr. Salim Azmi (+3) and Mr. Matthew Philip Perry (+6) played for Sahara Warriors and Sona Polo on the other side had Mr. Sanjay J Kapur (0), Sawai Padmanabh Singh (+3), Mr Abhimanyu Pathak (+5) and Mr Gerardo Mazzini (+6). Sona Polo played in black and white while Sahara Warriors were covered in white. The umpires of the match were Mr. Julio Bensadon and Mr. Shamsheer Ali.
Matthew Perry scored the first goal of the match. He struck a beautiful goal from a long run. The first chukker was goalless for Sona Polo team. Sahara Warriors were in good form and dominated the first chukker completely. Vandit Golecha scored one for Sahara Warriors to help them extend the lead. The first chukker ended with Sahara Warriors in the lead. The score after first chukker was 2 – 0.
Gerardo Mazzini struck a powerful long-distance goal and opened the scoring account for Sona Polo team. The score was 2 -1 when Abhimanyu Pathak scored a brisker. The scores were now levelled at 2 – 2 after Abhimanyu’s goal. The second chukker was goalless for Sahara Warriors team. The second chukker ended on a score of 2-2.
Abhimanyu Pathak scored the only goal of the third chukker. The third chukker was intense and both the teams struggled to score a goal. Sona Polo stopped Sahara Warriors from scoring a goal in the third chukker too. The third chukker was ended at 3-2 with Sona Polo in the lead.
The fourth chukker of the game opened with a brilliant strike from Salim Azmi. The score was levelled at 3-3 after Salim Azmi’s goal. Sona Polo quickly retained their lead back with a beautiful goal from Gerardo Mazzini. Abhimanyu Pathak scored a beautiful goal to end the chukker. Sona Polo were in the front after the fourth chukker. The scoreboard showed 5-3 before the fifth chukker started.
Sona Polo dominated the fifth chukker completely. Sona Polo were able to score four goals in the last chukker of the match. Sahara Warriors faced disappointment in this semi-final and were goalless in the fifth chukker too. Abhimanyu Pathak scored the first goal of the last chukker and extended Sona Polo’s lead. Gerardo Mazzini scored just after Abhimanyu Pathak’s goal and the scoreboard now showed 7 – 3. Gerardo Mazzini scored one more from a brilliant play by Sona Polo players. Sona Polo didn’t stop here, their star player Abhimanyu Pathak scored one in the closing minutes of the game. It was an easy victory for Sona Polo. The final score was 9 – 3.
Match Progression: Sona Polo – Sahara Warriors: (0-2)/(2-2)/(3-2)/(5-3)/(9-3)
The finals of Sir Pratap Singh Cup will be played on Sunday, 18th November 2018 between Sona Polo and LA Pegasus Polo at Jaipur Polo Ground, Delhi.
YOU CAN ALSO READ:
DAY 1 – THE 14 GOAL TOURNAMENT- SIR PRATAP SINGH CUP 2018 IN ACTION
DAY 2 – KEEPING THE POLO SPIRIT ALIVE SIR PRATAP SINGH CUP 2018 GALLOPED IN ACTION ON DAY 2
DAY 3 – JINDAL PANTHER/GARCHA LIONS PAVE THEIR WAY INTO THE SEMI FINALS OF SIR PRATAP SINGH CUP
