Let the Games Begin: World’s Largest Snow Polo Tournament gets Underway in China
For the third year running, the lush green polo fields of the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club were carpeted in crisp white snow, as China’s premier polo facility hosted the Fortune Heights Snow Polo World Cup 2014.
Asia’s first and only snow polo tournament and the largest of its kind in the world, the Fortune Heights Snow Polo World Cup is becoming one of the most talked about events in the international polo calendar, carrying on the prestigious tradition of snow polo first established on the frozen expanse of Lake St. Moritz in the 1985.
Bundled up in scarves and hats, spectators from around the world gathered for the opening ceremony and the traditional salute from the stars of world polo, wearing the colours of twelve nations and region: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, England, France, Hong Kong China, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and the USA.
The 14-16 goal handicap teams will compete over ten exciting match days. During the group stage, every team will play three games of three chukkas each; four teams will be eliminated, with eight progressing to the quarterfinals. The grand final will take place on Sunday 19 January.
The opening contest starred the champions of 2013, Hong Kong China, taking on the trio of riders from Spain, newcomers to the Snow Polo World Cup. The Spaniards looked anything but inexperienced, however, stunning last year’s winners with a brace of goals in the opening chukka. Hong Kong China pulled two back in the second to level the score, and this exchange carried over into the final chukka, the scores poised at 4 – 4 with a minute and a half left on the clock. In the end, the quality and persistence of Hong Kong China shone through, as they ran in a further two goals to claim victory.
Guillermo Terrera, the highest-ranked player in the competition, helped Hong Kong China with a brace of goals in the final chukka. “I was happy to score,†said a breathless Terrera after the match. “It feels great when things go the way you want.†But the eight-goal ranked Argentine admitted that the road ahead wouldn’t be easy. “We are probably in the toughest group, and our next games against Chile and England will be a big challenge. I would say that along with South Africa and Hong Kong China, we are the four teams to watch.â€
Chile certainly lived up to Terrera’s plaudits in the second match of the day against Australia. The South American side started explosively, scoring direct from the throw-in and following up with a well worked second, the yellow jerseys of Australia unable to reply. Chile pulled away in the second chukka with another goal from the throw-in; Australia piled on the pressure but to no avail, hitting the post and having a goal disallowed due to an infringement. Chile scored yet again from the throw-in in the third chukka, sealing a resounding 4 – 0 victory, with Matias Vial claiming three of his side’s goals.
The final match of the day starred England, the losing finalists from 2013, against newcomers Mexico. The Mexicans boasted a true legend in their ranks – Carlos Gracida – now in his fifties, once one of the world’s finest players ranked at ten-goals for over fifteen years. But the youth, power and indoor polo experience of the England side proved too much for the Mexicans, who trailed by four goals going into the final chukka. Mexico put up a valiant last stand and pulled a goal back from Carlos Gracida’s nephew Julio Gracida, but England’s Max Charlton smashed home his fourth of the game seconds before the bell to put the game out of reach at 5 –1.
In between the day’s sporting encounters, polo fans were serenaded by the rousing arias of the Buenos Aires Opera Show, and enjoyed the finest in international gastronomy prepared by the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club’s award-winning chefs. Out in the cold, the young and the young at heart frolicked in ‘The Whimsical
World’, a winter wonderland with sideshows and attractions including a purpose built sledging hill.
After an action-packed opening day, tomorrow’s encounters promise to be no less enthralling. New Zealand will take on the might of the USA, France will play Canada, and South Africa will challenge Brazil.
Daily polo matches are contested as follows:
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Results: Hong Kong China vs Spain 6 – 4
Australia vs Chile 0 – 4
England vs Mexico 5 – 1