South Africa, defending Asian-Australasian-African Champion eyeing for a spot in World Championship
South Africa, the winner of the last edition of the Asian-Australasian-African Championship, which also served as Zone-D Qualifiers of the FIP (Federation of International Polo) World Cup, is quite optimistic for booking a spot in the finals that is scheduled to be held in October 2011.
Despite the fact, the South African side is missing their number-one player, namely Sbu Duma, they are looking to keep back their title. Sbu Duma was excluded from the final line-up after he received a severe knee injury while playing a friendly football-game. Johan Du Preez has been replaced with Duma in the Zone-D Qualifiers which are scheduled to be held from June 11 to June 26, 2011 in Malaysia.
In absence of Duma, Terence Spilsbury having four-goal handicaps is the only player of South Africa who has contested the FIP World Cup. He was part of the team that played the last edition of the finals held in Mexico. Unluckily, they failed to make a mark in the title-claiming competition. Besides, Preez, Lance Watson, Duncan Watson, Shaun Brokensha and Campbell Macnab are part of the South African side.
The Zone-D Qualifiers will also serve Asian-Australian-African Championship out of which top three teams in the point's chart will qualify for the FIP World Cup. Besides, South Africa, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, and Nigeria will also contest in the mega event.
Clive Peddle, the Manager of the South African side, while commenting on the situation stated that the absence of Duma surely would leave impacts on their performance. However, Preez is quite confident to fill the space of Duma in order to confirm their position in the next round.
He stated, “We have come with a relatively young and inexperienced team for this tournament. But it is a good all round team and we want to make it to Argentina. We had hoped that Duma would recover in time but he did not. It is sad that he got injured playing football and not polo.”
The manager thinks that it would not be an easy task for South Africa in the upcoming matches, but they will have to fight and give their best. In his views, all the participating squads have good preparations for the World Championship.
It is vital to mention here that both Argentina and South Africa have faced each other in the warm-up game. However, they did not show their real strength in the friendly game.
South Africa will face Nigeria in the inaugural match of the Asian-Australian-African Championship. Peddle is of the opinion that if they want to win the mega opening game of the qualifiers it is imperative to mark their presence on the field.
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