Ghantoot Polo team beat Bangash in thriller
The star player for Bangash was the irresistible Manuel Elixalde, who scored six of his team’s eight goals in a dominating display of high-quality polo at the Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club
Hosts Ghantoot Polo team went on a blistering attack in the fifth and final chukker to overcome a two-goal deficit and defeat Bangash 9-8 on an action-packed opening day in the 2020 HH President of the UAE Polo Cup.
Ghantoot trailed their rivals 6-8 with less than seven minutes to play, but two goals each by their Argentinian professionals, Pablo Llorente and Marcos Araya, helped them turn impending defeat into a highly rewarding victory.
Both Llorente and Araya totally four goals each for the match played on 18-handicap format over five chukkers.
The star player for Bangash was the irresistible Manuel Elixalde, who scores six of his team’s eight goals in a dominating display of high-quality polo at the Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club.
All the six participating teams were in action on a fun-filled opening day featuring competitive matches.
Meanwhile, Al Habtoor’s Facundo Solo was in red-hot form scoring as many as 11 times in his team’s 14-13 victory over UAE Polo Team.
The top scorer for the UAE was veteran Tomas Beresfors who struck eight goals in a match that could have gone any way.
The UAE team was led by Sheikha Maitha Bint Mohammed, daughter of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-president and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and also featured Benjamin and Tomas Panelo.
In the day’s third match Abu Dhabi Polo Team dominated Desert Palm for most of the 35 minutes of action for an 8-3 victory.
The leading scorer for the winners was Martin Donovan with four goals while Ramiro Cordero, Martin Valent and Manuel Toccalino scored a goal apiece for Desert Palm.
HH President of the UAE Polo Cup offers a lucrative prize purse of Dhs500,000.
The grand finals of the showpiece event of the polo season, famous for attracting some of the leading polo players of the UAE and from around the world, will take place on March 27.
Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club sprung up around the vision of the late President His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and currently being run under the patronage and directives of his son, Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Zay ed ala boudialzaabi,g han too t’ s managing Director, congratulated the winners and wished the losers good luck for the remaining matches.
“We could not have hoped for a better start to this prestigious tournament, which is held in the name of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE.
The next match of the tournament between Habtoor and Bangash will be played at 3 pm at the Al Habtoor Polo Resort in Dubai.
The governing partner for the HH President of the UAE Cup is Abu Dhabi Sports Council and it’s being held in association with the Emirates Polo Association. Event Sponsors include YAS Capital Investments,yas International Properties LLC, YAS International Development, YAS International Holding , YAS International Investment and La Roche Pharmacy
The official car is Ghantoot’s long-time Pillar Partner, Premier Motors - Maserati.
HH President of the UAE Polo Cup fixrures: March 16: Habtoor vs Bangash: 3:30pm: March 17: Ghantoot vs Abu Dhabi (2:30pm), Desert Palm vs UAE Polo (4:30pm) March 20: Ghantoot vs UAE Polo (3:30pm) March 21: Desert Palm vs Bangash (2:30pm), Habtoor vs Abu Dhabi (4:30pm) March 24: Semi-finals (2:30pm, 4:30Pm) Match 27: Fifth place match (2:30pm), HH President of UAE Polo Cup Final (5pm)