14th Manipur Polo International : United Kingdom emerge champions with thrilling 10-8 win over hosts Manipur
Source: The Sangai Express / DIPR
Imphal, November 29 2022:
The 14th Manipur Polo International-2022 came to an end with the United Kingdom beating hosts and defending champions Manipur (India-B) 10-8 in a thrilling title clash here at Mapal Kangjeibung today.
Governor of Manipur, La Ganesan handed over the winning trophy with a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh, medals and certificate to the United Kingdom team.
Minister for Tribal Affairs and Hills Letpao Haokip handed over the runners' up trophy with a cash prize of Rs 1.5 lakh, medals and certificate to the Manipur team.
The match began on an encouraging note for the Manipur team with P Ojit opening the account a few seconds into the game.
T Atangba then added two more goals to give Manipur a 3-0 lead but Phil Seller added three goals to draw level.
However L Atangba scored a beautiful goal from the middle of the field in the last minute to give Manipur a 4-3 lead in the opening chukker.
The 2nd chukker saw the UK team dominate the chukker pumping in as many as five goals three by Phil Seller and two by Harry Tucker to overturn the lead.
The 3rd chukker was evenly matched with both the teams scoring a goal apiece.
Phil Seller scored once again for the UK team from a penalty stroke in the third minute while L Atangba scored for Manipur in the 4th minute.
After trailing behind by 5-9 goals, the hosts team made a very strong comeback in the last chukker with L Atangba scoring one and P Ojit scoring twice to further reduce the gap.
But Phil Seller added yet another goal to his team's tally in the 3rd minute to guide his team to a 10-8 win and the title trophy.
"It is an incredible feeling", said Phil Seller who has been a prolific scorer for UK.
"The team played amazing polo, we gave 100 percent".
Though he believes luck also played its fair part, he credited the win to the fact that they were well prepared and to the fact that "every player worked for each other and left the ball for the best person".
"My boys played well but luck was not on our side today," opined Bimol, Manipur team coach, pointing to about four occasions when they came very close to scoring and missed.
A little lack of understanding between the Manipuri players in the 2nd chukker cost them the match, said Bimol while congratulating the UK team who produced a very disciplined performance today.
Speaking as chief guest at the closing ceremony, the Governor said Manipur has given Polo to the world and it is a matter of pride.
He said, the present day polo originated from the traditional Manipuri Polo -Sagol Kangjei.
The Manipur Polo International, a tournament approved by the Indian Polo association is the only one of its kind played on Pony.
The tournament is unique not only because it is played on Manipuri Pony but it is also played at the historic oldest Polo ground in the world - Mapal Kangjeibung or Imphal Pologround, he said.
The Governor continued that besides encouraging tourism and sports, saving the Manipuri Pony is also an objective of the tournament.
This tournament organized by the Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association as a part of the Manipur Sangai Festival, 2022 has obviously been a major attraction in the festival.
The tournament occupies a well deserved pride of place in the festival and it has been made grander by the participation of the foreign teams and players.
The presence of these foreign teams and players will give fresh impetus to the popularity of the game, said the Governor while thanking the players and organizers for making the tournament a grand success.
Education Minister Th Basantakumar; MLA Th Radheshyam Singh who is also the president of Manipur Olympic Association; Ambassadors of Myanmar and Cambodia; High Commissioner of Brunei to India; Arvind Kumar Singh, Chief General Manager, SBI, NE and Lumkim Thangboi, General Manager SBI, NE-II also attended the closing ceremony.
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