Pakistan to face India in Asian-Australian-African Polo Champions Finals
To decide the fate the Asian-Australian-African Polo Championship title, the polo teams of Pakistan and India will face each other on June 25, 2011 at the Royal Selangor Polo Club in Malaysia.
It is vital to mention here that both the teams have been qualified for the FIP (Federation of International Polo) World Championship Final that is to be played from October 11 to 25 in Argentina.
Both the teams are flying on a high verge and are quite optimistic for lifting the title of the tournament.
Manager of the Pakistan’s polo team, Abdul Qadir Mamdot, was quite pragmatic about the title-claiming fixture. In his views, the Indian side has better players and is one of the favourites for the triumph. But at the same time he expressed confidence in
Pakistan’s team saying that they would give a tough time to their arch-rivals. He added, “India will certainly start as favourites as they have experienced players who have been together for about four years. We have a young team. Temur (Nadeem) is making
his international debut here but has come up well so far.”
On the other hand Vikram Singh Rathore, the manager of the Indian side, said that the training period in Indonesia served the team a lot. He further stated that the experience in Indonesia, particularly the weather condition, eased their way into the finals.
He said, “The stint in Indonesia had a huge impact on the team as we got to train with 40 horses from Argentina under hot and humid weather conditions similar to Malaysia.”
The Manager continued that the title-victory would restart a new phase of polo in the region. He reiterated that they had trained a best line-up in the last two decades that has capabilities to create new polo history for India.
There is plenty of excitement among the two countries for the title-clash. Gen Isfandyar Pataudi, the President of the Pakistan Polo Association (PPA), and Maharaja Gaj Singh, the Vice-President of the Indian Polo Association (IPA), are also standing side-by-side
with their teams in order to boost them up for the final clash.
India will rely on its most in-form player, namely Samir Suhag, who set the pace for Indian team with sixteen goals in the three matches. From the other side, Raja Sami Ullah will be in action with 13 goals to his credit. It is vital to mention here that
Raja Sami Ullah is a legendary hockey pro, who donned the colours in numerous countries including Argentina, Dubai and United Kingdom.
It is vital to mention here that the Indian polo team lifted the title eleven years ago on home soil. Interestingly, the Indian team at that time out-played Pakistan by three goals, 9-6.
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