Open de France Paprec
Kick-off this Sunday with the 100% French team !
The most important tournament of this European late season, the Open de France Paprec, will kick-off this Sunday by a shock between titleholder Marquard Media and an 100% French team, Sainte-Mesme, multiple-time finalist seeking a first title.
Sainte-Mesme will thus be the favorite team of French polo aficionados composed of three players from the national team A, France number 1 Brieuc Rigaux (h6), impressive Clément Delfosse (h5) and Robert Strom (h4), alongside their captain Birger Strom. “I won the Open de France in its 14 goals version with Castel team, but not yet in 16 goals, and it’s clearly an objective of mine this season”, formerly announce Brieuc Rigaux, who was finalist of the Deauville Gold Cup but lost shortly. A game where he was directly opposed to Argentina handicap 10 Sapo Caset, but where he was named best player and whose gelgind, Elastico, was named game best pony. Top-level is what motivates the French, native of Apremont, that’s why, after this tournament, he will fly to Argentina to play one of the most prestigious tournament of polo universe, the Copa Camara.
On its side, Marquard Media will line up two players of the national Argentina team, who beat France last May, Martin Aguerre Jr (h7) and Jota Chavane (h5). This encounter will mostly look like revenge from this France-Argentina of May 22nd.
Two other protagonists of this game will this time be playing in the same team: Argentina Nacho Kennedy and France Pierre Henri Ngoumou (both h5), will play for French captain Alexandre Sztarkman, alongside one other Argentinian great player, Dario Musso (h7), for Mochi Chic Polo Team (first game next Tuesday against Great Britain EFG Aravali).
But the greatest players are not all Argentineans or French in Apremont. Open de France’s spectators will discover for the first time the player who just became European number 1, young Great Britain Max Charlton (h7), alongside Chili Jaime Huidrobo (h7 in Europe but h8 in Argentina where he is one of the few foreigners to regularly participate in the Abierto de Palermo, the Argentine Open, the most popular tournament in the world).
The fifth team will consist of young players from the France team B (level European championship that it disputes currently in Berlin, qualified for the semifinals) around an Argentine player from the first hours of the Polo Club Domaine de Chantilly, who will be extremely well welcomed back in Picardie, Faty Reynot Blanco (h5 today) who, among others, is a former winner of the Deauville Gold Cup.
Wonderful team for this 16th Open de France Paprec. Games will be played on seven days until September 18th, day of the finale (enclosed the schedule). Entrance is free and games on Saturdays and Sundays are commented.