Fortune Heights Snow Polo World Cup 2013
Argentina and Hong Kong China to Compete in Final Match of Tournament
12 teams from around the world vie for the world championship
at Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club from Jan 25 – Feb 3
The Fortune Heights Snow Polo World Cup 2013 (“Snow Polo World Cupâ€) continued into the seventh day at Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club (“Metropolitan Polo Clubâ€). Snow Polo World Cup is one of the major events on the world polo calendar, and is the largest snow polo tournament in the world. This is the second year running that Metropolitan Polo Club, the largest polo facility in China, has been chosen as the venue of this prestigious event. The tournament is hosted by the Equestrian Association of China and the Federation of International Polo (FIP), and is organized by the Tianjin Sports Bureau, the Hong Kong Polo Development and Promotion Federation (HKPDPF) and the Tianjin Polo Association, with support from various sponsors.
Twelve teams have been participating in this year’s tournament with handicaps ranging from 14 to 16 goals, making this the world’s premier snow polo event. The teams, selected in cooperation with the Federation of International Polo, represent 9 out of the top 10 polo countries. Countries represented at the start of the tournament were: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, England, France, Hong Kong, China, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA. Four of these teams passed through the Quarter-Finals into today’s Semi-Finals, which matched Hong Kong, China against England, and Argentina against South Africa, in the finest polo matches yet seen in the tournament.
The Semi-Finals began with the England vs. Hong Kong China match, a replay of the same line-up from last year, when Hong Kong also beat the England team. Today, England played a very different game , when compared to their Quarter-Final match against Chile. Against Chile, they had been taking risky long swings up-field, but today they were playing the ball close-in, keeping it well guarded. England team captain Alan Hunt explained, “we had to play very differently against Hong Kong, you cannot allow any chances for this opponent to take control of the ball, they are just too fast and too agile to allow that to happenâ€. Unfortunately for England, the Hong Kong team did take control of the ball. At the end of the second chukka Hong Kong was leading 2 goals to 1. In the third chukka, Hong Kong took a goal within 12 seconds of the start, and then kept the match-play in the England goal mouth, forcing England to take risky defensive moves, and chalking up penalty shots against them. With the third chukka ending 5 goals to 3 in favor of Hong Kong, the pressure was clearly on England to make a come-back. In the tense final chukka, England took to the offensive with an aggressive start, moving the match to an almost even 5 goals to 4. After repeatedly charging the Hong Kong goal-line, and making several near-miss swings, England had almost achieved a draw, but then gave away an unfortunate penalty shot, and ended with a defeat, 6 goals to 4 in favor of Hong Kong. Showing his modesty, Hong Kong lead player Guillermo Terrera commented after the match, “England played very well, we thought they might come back in the final chukka, but we had good luck and we wonâ€.
The second match of the day was equally gratifying for the crowds. South Africa, after their hard-fought but decisive Quarter-Final win against Canada, today faced a greater challenge from Argentina, the country that has produced the world’s largest number of high-goal polo players. The first two chukkas saw a supremely confident looking Argentina playing hard on the offensive. Argentina seemed to barely pay attention to defense, when the ball came onto their side, they merely raced back, and swept it forward again. Matias Vial, entertained the crowd not only with his polo, but also with his displays of agility and horsemanship, like a man not constrained by saddle and stirrups, he seemed able to reach for almost impossible swings. Argentine teammate Juan Ruiz Guiñazú at times kept the ball air-born, repeatedly tapping it into the air as he lined it up for a long forward swing. By the end of the second chukka, Argentina had a 4 goal to 1 lead. The third chukka was not any easier for South Africa. Indeed, Argentina managed to shift even a disadvantage to an advantage; on a defended penalty shot against them, Argentine lead player Guiñazú actually took control of the ball and played it all the way up-field to the South Africa goal, passing it through to team mate Matias Vial who took the goal.
With the third chukka ending 5 goals to 2, South Africa knew they needed to change tactics. South Africa team captain and coach, Clive Peddle, later commented: “we had allowed Argentina to play the way they wanted, so we started to play the way we wanted, slower and with more close-in ball controlâ€. The tactical change seemed to pay off, Argentina appeared unprepared for the coming onslaught, and perhaps a little taken-aback, as South Africa scored 4 goals, almost getting to an even score. Unfortunately the come-back was not quite enough, and Argentina just managed to retain their lead, winning the match 7 goals to 6. Santiago Gaztambide, Argentine team captain commented, “we perhaps were overconfident going into the final chukka, we let too many through, but we corrected for this, and of course, we won… in polo things change very fast, you can never assume you have won until the final second has gone.â€
Tomorrow Hong Kong China will play Argentina in the Final match, the winner of which will take home the coveted Fortune Heights Snow Polo World Cup 2013 Trophy, crafted by eminent silversmith Thomas Lyte of Mayfair, London, whose workshop serves many of the world’s most prestigious sporting events.