Metropolitan Intervarsity Polo 2014 – The Cambridge Challenge Continues at Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club
Cambridge smother Stanford as Oxford easily defeat Yale on the third day of the tournament in Tianjin
The Cambridge Challenge, is currently underway at Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club. With three days down, there are two more to go until this year’s champions are revealed.
Teams competing in the event last year included the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, Harvard University and Yale University. This year, all teams have returned to compete once again, with the addition of two new competitors, the University of London and Stanford University.
The annual event attracts large groups of university alumni, many of whom have flown in from their home countries to support their alma maters in Tianjin. The sidelines are also frequented by VIP guests, international polo experts and media, who are able to enjoy the games in the luxury setting of the Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club.
The tournament, which is now in its second year, is not only a means of presenting some of the impressive upcoming polo talents, but also a thoroughly enjoyable way to promote the game of polo among today’s young Chinese. The Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club hopes to encourage more interest and enthusiasm for the historical sport, and present more unique opportunities for academic, cultural and social exchanges among representatives from universities, as well as local students and parents.
For centuries, polo has been known as the ”Game of Kings”. Now, Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club is making this aspirational lifestyle accessible to China’s youth, enabling young people to find passion in a sport that encourages teamwork, responsibility and, most of all, fun.
At last year’s event, Cambridge managed to scoop the final prize, following a fierce battle with Harvard. This year, anticipation is high to see whether they will be able to secure their title for another year.
The first three days of the tournament saw some passionate play from all teams; showcasing the unique skills, the athleticism and elegance at the heart of the glorious game of polo.
Today was a humid and overcast day with a slight breeze as we entered into day three of the Cambridge Challenge. Heavy rains from an electric thunderstorm graced over the fields last night but did not have much an effect on the level of play. The first match of Thursday’s competition presented Team Stanford, already with one loss, to battle Team Cambridge, champions of the Metropolitan Intervarsity Polo 2013. Cambridge, led by Sam Browne, came out with guns blazing in the first half of the game.
Browne, who seemed to be everywhere on the field at once, scored 3 goals in the first chukka and 3 more in the second chukka. Stanford were only able to answer with a single point from Erich Schloss, set up with some beautiful team play by Shivani Torres, leaving the score 8-2.5 in favour of Cambridge in the first half. Stanford looked to turn things around in the second half with a breakaway goal from Shivani Torres within the first seconds of the third chukka, only to be disappointed by this dominant Cambridge squad led by Browne, who scored 4 goals in the fourth chukka.
Cambridge only allowed Stanford one more goal in the end, beating them 17-5.5. When asked why Cambridge kept pushing in the second half of the match, Sam Browne, who accounted for 12 of Cambridge’s goals, explained it was for point differential. If Cambridge ended up tied to another team later on in the tournament, the placement would be determined by goals, which at this point would put Cambridge in the lead.
After a brief intermission, riders from Oxford and Yale took to the battlefield for what would be redemption for one of these elite universities who have, until this match, both suffered a loss each. Oxford came out on top of the first chukka scoring three times on the Yale riders.
The second chukka was filled with penalties. Oxford were able to take it through the posts two more times, one of them by Jerome Kamm with a beautiful drive showcasing his great skills, athleticism and elegance over his pony Cafu. Yale had a few good attempts to score in the third chukka but were unable to gain points. Wang from Oxford on the other hand was able to put two through the posts for Oxford, giving them a 7-0 lead. In the fourth chukka, Yale were once again outplayed but not without Arthur Sonnenfeld scoring one point to prevent a shutout, leaving the final score 10-1 in favour of Oxford. Lawrence Wang attributed Oxford’s victory to their ability to play “individual classic polo”, not playing anything fancy but playing as a team.
The tournament will continue on the 19th giving the players and ponies a day of rest before we see all six teams match up. We will be looking forward to more exciting polo with Oxford matching up against Harvard, Stanford taking on Yale and London taking on Cambridge.
The results so far:
Sunday, 13 July 2014
Result: London vs Yale 10 – 7.5
Stanford vs Harvard 4 – 11
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Result: Oxford vs Cambridge 2.5 – 6
London vs Harvard 9 – 4
Thursday, 17 July 2014
Results: Cambridge vs Stanford 17 – 5.5
Oxford vs Yale 10 – 1
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The tournament schedule will continue as follows:– |
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19July 2014(SAT) |
16:00 |
Oxford |
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Harvard |
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