Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s VR Sports Club, Bangkok hosts the Thailand Polo Ambassador Cup
By Victoria Elsbury-Legg
After the hugely successful Thailand Polo King’s Cup which took place at VR Sports Club, Bangkok in January, when history was made on the pitches of Thailand with ten goalers Gonzalo Pieres and Pablo MacDonough playing in the tournament (making it the highest handicapped tournament in Asia) the floodlights of the VR Sports Club pitches will now be turned on to the six teams – King Power, L’Oreal, Globalport, Crockfords, Tang Polo and SPP – competing in the annual Thailand Polo Ambassador Cup from Tuesday 10th – Saturday 14th March 2015.
The Ambassador Cup is a competitive tournament with plenty of high speed matches making it great interactive polo for both patrons and pros. It has an international feel featuring teams from across Asia, including Globalport from the Philippines, which is headed up by businessman ‘Mikee’ Michael Romero, Vice Chairman of Air Asia Philippines and Shilai Liu brings his Tang Polo team from Beijing China to play alongside home side King Power. Professional players taking part include 4 goal English pro Mike Howe who has flown in to play for Crockfords, whose English patron Edward Batchelor lives in Thailand.
Last year’s tournament saw teams playing under sponsors’ names, in 2015 patrons have been given the option to play under their own team name. With plenty of action guaranteed for all the spectators to enjoy, it just remains to be seen if Crockfords can retain the Cup they won in 2014.
Follow the tournament on Twitter @tpa_polo
Ambassadors Tournament sponsors include: Maxims Casino Club, SCB, King Power, Air Asia, Singha Corporation, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Sweat Rock, WIZ Auto Sales Co.,Ltd., Samart Telcoms, Pullman Hotels, Ralph Lauren, Accor Hotels, TWG Tea, Divana, Hello Bangkok, Plan B Media, True Vision. See link for further details: http://www.thailandpolo.or.th/our-partners
Ambassador’s Tournament (4-6 goal) Schedule of Play 2015
Day 1 – Tuesday 10th March
16:30 Crockfords v SPP, SPP Field
17:30 King Power v L’Oreal, VR Field
Day 2 – Wednesday 11th March
16:30 King Power v Globalport, SPP Field
17:30 Crockfords v Tang Polo, VR Field
Day 3 – Thursday 12th March
16:30 SPP v Tang Polo, SPP Field
17:30 L’Oreal v Globalport, VR Field
Day 4 – Friday 13th March
16:30 5th v 6th, SPP Field
Day 5 – Saturday 14th March
16:30 3rd v 4th, SPP Field
17:30 Finalist v Finalist, VR Field
Group A
King Power
Apichet Srivaddhanaprabha (0)
Lucas Lujan (4)
Santiago Lujan (3)
Paitoon Khamata (-1)
L’Oreal Men Expert
Clement Toussaint (2)
Hughes Van Heesewijk (0)
Laurent Doumergue (2)
Julient Reynes (2)
Globalport
Michael Romero (0)
Adrian Garcia (2)
Anthony Garcia (5)
Santi Juban (-1)
Group B
Crockfords
Edward Batchelor (-1)
Russell Tyre (-1)
Mike Howe (4)
Antonino Menard (4)
Tang Polo
Shilai Liu (1)
Miguel Diaz (5)
Nan Liu (0)
Nutthadith Sila-Amornsak (0)
SPP
Ploy Bhinsaeng (-1)
James Lee (-1)
Nicolas Pieroni (4)
Tomas Martinez (3)