XI FIP World Polo Championship – Day 4
Chile, England and New Zealand with chances to reach finals
The second match day of the Zone B of the XI. FIP WORLD POLO CHAMPIONSHIP SYDNEY 2017, comprised by Chile, India, England and New Zealand took place today at the world-class fields of the Sydney Polo Club.
The first teams to battle each other this morning were India and Chile, who showed a true example of great polo and sportsmanship. India had a great start, and they gave a good battle to Chile. The Chileans after the third chukka were able to get a hold of the match, but India was relentless, and the match ended in 11-2 in favor of the South Americans. If Chile wins this next Saturday, they will secure a place in the finals.
India: Siddhant Sharma (3), Angad Kalaan (4), Dhruv Pal Godara (5), HH Padmanabh Singh (2)
Chile: Jose Ignacio Martinez (2), Jose Segers (5), Andres Vial Pieres (3), Jose Miguel Pereira Riesco (4)
During the afternoon, it was the turn for New Zealand and England to meet on the pitch. A wonderful match, as the spectators and judges stated, that seemed to be the best of the tournament so far. New Zealand showed great abilities and surprised the audience with their clean strategy. England was also solid; there was a lot of movement and good plays. Even though England started in great spirits, New Zealand stepped up showing confidence, great teamwork, and strategy. The final score was 11-8 in favor of the All Blacks of polo.
England: Josh Cork (2), Satnam Dillon (5), Henry Porter (2), Peter Webb (5)
New Zealand: Adam Haworth (2), Guy Higginson (5), Glen Sherri (5), Jonny Jones (2)
The finals of this Zone are yet undecided. While Chile and England look like the strongest teams to earn a spot, New Zealand emerged, and now if it faces India and scores many goals, it will have chances as well. If Chile manages to win by a wide goal difference, then the place in the finals it’s theirs, but if England does so as well, the place will be reserved for the team that has more points in total.
“England started off well today, we know they are really good, but we got a little bit of extra confidence, and succeeded towards the end. It was a close match; we just had work hard to keep the pressure on, there were many things in play, we had to keep focused. We always had to keep on working as hard as possible throughout the match; the game didn’t ease up” – Adam Haworth NZ Polo Team
On Saturday, all of the teams will meet at the field, the games as follow:
10:00 am – New Zealand vs. India (Supreme Field)
12:00 pm – USA vs. Spain (Supreme Field)
2:00 pm – Chile vs. England (International Field)
4:00pm – Australia vs. Argentina (International Field)
