Emerging winners of the zonal play-offs by beating Pakistan 12 goals to 9 in an exciting match at Kuala Lumpur, the Indian polo team created history on Malaysian soil by receiving their first international polo title outside India in the Asian-Australasian-African Championships final at the Royal Selangor Polo Club.
In the process, India also became the first country to lift the newly-instituted Malaysia Cup. Commissioned by the Royal Malaysian Polo Association, the trophy is a sterling silver cup with an engraving of the bunga raya hibiscus, Malaysia’s national flower. The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato Seri Tun Abdul Najib, presented the cup to the Indian team.
The idea of a Malaysia Cup that would serve as an Asia-Pacific Champion-ship was mooted by RMPA president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah. There was more joy for India when Samir Suhag (handicap 5) was voted the most valuable player.
Samir was in top form in the final, scoring five goals to take his personal tally to 23 goals in the tournament. India’s other goals came through Simran Shergill who scored four goals and two by Tarun Sirohi and one by Vishal Chauhan. Pakistan newcomer Temur Nadeem was his team’s top scorer with five goals followed by Ahmed Tiwanawith two.
The victory also means that the Indian team have maintained their supremacy over rivals from the Indian sub-continent, having beaten Pakistan 9-6 in the World Cup qualifier at Jaipur in 2000 to become champions and 13 ½-11 in the 2007 qualifier in New Zealand.
Both teams took the field with unbeaten records. Pakistan, however, started the match with a two goal advantage due to their 12-goal team against India’s 14-goal team. It turned out to be a thrilling final with some quality polo on shiw.
Things did look a bit bleak for India when Pakistan scored twice in the early minutes of the first chukka through Temur and Ahmed to take a 4-0 lead before India pulled one back through Samir Suhag. It was the goal India needed to get charged and they did it in style in the second chukka to draw level at 4-4.
India took off from there as the team grew in confidence while Pakistan wilted. The champions moved confidently ahead to 6-4 in the third chukka and 10-7 by the fifth chukka. Pakistan staged a brief fightback at this stage and narrowed the gap to 10-9. But that was all that Pakistan could do against the Indian who were not ready to give go back as second best. The final whistle left Pakistan players in tears while India celebrated.
Having given the game named polo to the world, and being the only country in the world carrying forward its historic equestrian tradition by maintaining the 61st Cavalry as a horsed cavalry regiment, India in recent decades remained at best fourth in world polo, with Argentina being number one.
“This win is history for us. We came here with a mission and we did it in style. As I this is the best polo team from India in 20 years. This team has a bright future. Indian polo has come of age and we will be heading to Argentina (for the FIP Polo World Cup Finals) in October with confidence,” said Indian team manager Vikram Singh Rathore.
“India had never won an international polo tournament. We look towards this win as our stepping stone for better things to come in future international tournaments. Winning here against a world class lineup means Indian polo has a bright future.”
Pakistan manager Abdul Qadir Mamdot said: “We had the chances but failed to make it count. India deserve to win. They were the better side.”
The winning team will now leave September 27 for the IX World Cup Polo Championship from October 10 to 21 at San Luis, Argentina.
The Indian Polo Association held a rigorous coaching cum fitness camp for the Indian World Cup polo team from September 1 under the aegis of national coach V.P. Singh at the 61st Cavalry polo ground in Jaipur. They are scheduled to play practice matches in Argentina to acclimatise to the local grounds condition and horses.
The 10 top teams participating also include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Pakistan, USA and two teams from Zone ‘C’.