| Fadhil Yunus |
BRUNEI emerged champions of the His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei’s 72nd Birthday Polo Tournament after defeating Singapore 9-7 in a keenly contested final at the Royal Brunei Polo and Riding Club yesterday.
Brunei, spearheaded by His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen and Her Royal Highness Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah, maintained their perfect record having enjoyed victories against Pakistan and Malaysia in group stage play.
The early periods of the match witnessed nothing to choose from as both teams fought hard in their attempt to win the title.
The hosts gained a slight advantage in the fourth chukka after leading 6-4 but Singapore were breathing down their necks.
In the next chukka, the advantage was not lost as Brunei led 7-5 but the next point made it more interesting in the late stages of the match.
Brunei’s Gaston Urturi made a move to ensure that his side not only widened their lead but also assured that time did not favour Singapore to mount a late comeback.
Gaston, who has terrorised all the teams since day one with his all-around play, knocked the ball from the side of the field into the centre to present his side a two-goal advantage.
He made another strong move on the other end to put his side in dreamland and another goal from Singapore proved to be mere consolation.
Singapore settled for a runners-up finish while the Philippines are placed third. Malaysia finished in fourth place while Pakistan took fifth place.