Our Correspondent
Imphal, Nov. 27 (EMN): In what was virtually a rehearsal for the final of the ongoing international polo tournament which is scheduled to be held on November 29, the two undefeated teams of the ongoing tourney -- Manipur and England -- had an opportunity to size up each other as they met for the first time. Fortunately, host Manipur emerged victorious by a goal margin of 6-4.
The 13th Manipur Polo International tourney is being played at the historic Mapal Kangjeibung, the oldest polo ground in the world, located in the heart of Imphal town, as part of ongoing Manipur’s Sangai Festival, an annual tourism festival of the state.
Both the teams started out cautiously, probing the strengths and weaknesses of their opponent. The stress was on not allowing the opponent to score, and both the teams drew a blank in the 1st chucker. England was the first to open its account with George Amor scoring in the 38th minute of the 2nd chucker. However, in the latter half of the 2nd chucker, Manipur found its rhythm and fired in three goals through Leishemba, Jogendro and Jacob to take a 3-1 lead.
Manipur continued to dominate the proceeding in the 3rd chucker also, as they scored three more goals. The first of these was an individual effort from Jacob who tapped the ball from his own half towards the English goal. In the meantime, Will Smith scored for England, reducing the lead to 4-2. However, within seconds, Abung Khuman fired in a beautiful shot from an acute angle while Jogendro also scored towards the end to make it 6-2.
The English side scored immediately after the start of the final chucker when Ben Eley converted a 30 yards penalty carried over from the last chucker. About a minute later, Will Smith’s shot found the target to make it 6-4. The English team made several assaults on the Manipur citadel but failed to score any more goals. The match ended at 6-4 in favour of Manipur.
Earlier, in the first match, USA thrashed India A 9-3. The final of the 13th Manipur Polo International will be played on November 29 at 1 pm.
