DS Polo/ASC and Diamond Paints booked berths in the main final of the Master Paints Jinnah Gold Cup 2021 after winning their semifinals played here at the Jinnah Polo and Country Club.
Superb seven goals by Maxwell Charlton steered DS Polo/ASC to a hard-fought 9-7 1/2 triumph over spirited Master Paints in the first semifinal of the day. Besides Charlton’s heroics, Hissam Ali Hyder also played well and converted a brace.
For Master Paints, which had a half goal handicap advantage, Marcos Panelo slammed in five goals while Juan Cruz Losada and Raja Jalal Arslan scored one goal apiece. The started with Master Paints having a half goal handicap advantage while DS Polo/ASC struck the opening goal of the match to gain 1- 1/2 lead but Master Paints then started playing aggressively, which helped them convert a brace to earn 2 1/2-1 lead. Both the sides then converted one goal each with Master Paints having a slight 3 1/2-2 lead.
The second chukker saw great action and classic competition between both the sides, which manages to bang in a brace each, Master Paints were still enjoying a minor lead of 5 1/2-4. DS Polo turned the tables of the crucial match in the third chukker, where they played aggressive polo and hammered a hat-trick of goals against one goal by Master Paints to gain a good 7-6 1/2 lead.
Master Paints started the fourth and last chukker well by converting a field goal to make get back 7 1/2-7 lead but Hissam Ali Hyder then showed his class and malleted two back-to-back goals to guide his side to a well-deserving 9-7 1/2 victory.
Raul Laplacette fired in fabulous five goals in the Diamond Paints’ 7-4 victory over FG Polo in the second semifinal of the day. Besides Raul’s five-goal haul, Ramiro Zaveletta and Saqib Khan Khakwani scored one goal each. For FG Polo, the contribution came from Mian Abbas Mukhtar (2 goals), Jamie Le Hardy (1 goal) and Francisco Bensadon (1 goal).Diamond Paints were off to flying start as they slammed in a a brace to earn a 2-0 lead by the end of the first chukker. The highly-charged second chukker saw Diamond Paints maintaining their dominance by cracking a quartet against one goal by FG Polo to gain a healthy 6-1 lead. Diamond Paints added one more in their tally in the third chukker to further enhance their lead to 7-1, while in the dying moments of the third chukker, FG Polo struck one to reduce the margin to 7-2. The fourth and final chukker was though fully dominated by FG Polo as they converted two brilliant goals but it was too little too late for them, as they lost the semifinal by 4-7.
