LAHORE: Raja Samiullah and Hamza Mawaz Khan guided Barry’s to a title victory against Newage/Master Paints in the finals of National Open Polo Championship – Quaid-e-Azam Gold Cup 2017 played at the Lahore Polo Club ground.
For his outstanding polo performance and brilliant mallot and horse work, Hamza was named man of the match as he hammered fantastic four goals. His teammate Raja Samiullah was also remained phenomenal throughout the final and struck superb six goals while George Meyrick contributed hit one. From the losing side, Juan Cruz Losada fired fabulous five goals while Hissam Ali Hyder converted three but their team failed to score victory.
Hamza Mawaz Khan was given the Bank Alfalah rising talent award along with a cheque of Rs. 300,000. The year’s best talent award of -2 to 0 category went to Aun Rizvi, who hails from Islamabad, the 0 to 2 category award went to Mumtaz Abbas Niazi, 2 to 4 to Saqib Khan Khakwani, the most valuable Pakistan player to Hissam Ali Hyder and the most valuable foreign player award went to Juan Cruz Losada.
Earlier in the subsidiary final, Master Paints (Black) defeated Ravi Auto by 6-5. Andres Crispo remained the top scorer of the match with fabulous four goals, while Bilal Haye and Sufi M Haris contributed one goal each. From the losing side, Saqib Khan Khakwani thwarted three and Guy Gibrat scored two. Howard George Smith and Timothy John Bown were field umpires.
Bank Alfalah CEO Atif Bajwa said that for the last eight years, Bank Alfalah had been supporting talent in polo. The Bank Alfalah’s ‘rising talent program’ aims to enhance the image of Pakistan by showcasing stories of optimism and ingenuity. He further said that they will continue to positively impact our sports industry by supporting young talent in years to come.
