The UAE Polo team has been celebrating after clinching victory in a dramatic final of the Dubai Challenge Cup over Battistoni Polo at the Al Habtoor Polo and Resort Club.
A see-saw game began with UAE Taking an early two-goal lead, with Jacinto Crotto opening the scoring. This lead remained in place until the latter part of the second chukker, when Battisoni hit back with two quick goals to level the game.
UAE regained their two goal lead in the penultimate chukker when Raja Albujebain and Lucas Monteverde Junior both scored and in the final chukker, UAE Polo team patron Sheikha Maitha Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum scoring a fifth.
The trophy seemed secure, but Battisoni stormed back, with goals flying in as the match was left tied 6-6 at the end of the fourth chukker.
This brought everything down to the fifth chukker, when Crotto scored a golden goal with a penalty shot to secure a 7-6 victory and win the cup for the UAE team.
Earliet in the day, the subsidiary final had taken place between Tratok/Hesketh and Dubai Wolves. Manuel Plaza gave Traktor/Hesketh an early lead, before a hat-trick by Tommy Beresford for the Wolves put them two goals clear.
Wolves then took complete control to stretch the lead to 7-1, before a late rally by Traktor/Hesketh reduced the arrears for a final score of 9-5 to the Wolves.
The hat-trick by Beresford highlights the prominent role played in the sport by top British players, something that may inspire more young people to take up the sport.
Other top players performing overseas include Maxwell Charlton, who was recently featured in Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper.
Charlton told the paper about how his own interest in the sport began, explaining that an architect working on his parents’ house was part of a polo club and invited him along, as he was already interested in horse riding.
“I was also asked to try playing. That was when I got totally hooked to the sport,” he added, explaining that he developed through the world famous Guards Polo Club and turned professional at the age of just 16.
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