Sun 11th Sep 2016Semi Final Action in BakuCBC Sport Arena Polo World Cup Azerbaijan 2016
Saturday 10 September saw the Semi Finals of CBS Sport Arena Polo World Cup, contested by teams from Azerbaijan, Switzerland, Spain and Argentina. The first game was a fast paced and exciting game played between the evenly matched Italdizian Group (Argentina) and Badrutt’s Palace (St. Moritz). The crowd of 5,000 + was treated to some great teamwork and attacking play from Badrutt’s Palace’s Tito Gaudenzi and some strong defensive plays by René Kleinlugtenbelt. Unfortunately for Badrutt’s Palace, Italdizian Group were too strong and managed to pull away in the final chukka. This was in part thanks to two incredible field goals in quick succession from Argentine Pato Bolanterio, following impressive team play from the Meier brothers. The final score was 4-6 in favour of Italdizian Group. The second game which featured local favourites Gilan Holding (Azerbaijan) and the strong Bognor team (Spain) was similarly entertaining. Buoyed by an increasingly vocal home crowd, Gilan Holding played the match at a blistering pace, particularly by Azeri star Elchin Jamalli. It was however the experience of Bognor group, twinned with the ball skills of Mario Gomes, that paid dividend. All three members of the team worked tirelessly as a unit in both defence and attack to wrestle the game from Gilan Holding, winning the game by a margin of half a goal with the final score being 6-6½ After polo the party atmosphere continued as players, guests and officials attended the Baku Moritz Night Polo Party sponsored by Azersun Holding and presented by Badrutt’s Palace. All were treated to a wonderful night of both Azeri and international entertainment acts that varied from traditional dancing and folk music to powerful operatic ballads. Today, Badrutt’s Palace and Italdizian Group (Argentina) will play for third place. The final is set to be a real battle as Gilan Holding (Azerbaijan) and Bogner (Spain) play each other once more. Photograph: Bogner’s Mario Gomes and Goldan Holding’s Agustin Kronhaus battle for the ball. By ©www.imagesofpolo.com |