Daily Times

LAHORE: The management of Lahore Polo Club and sponsors Brighto Paints formally declared the Brighto Paints Lahore Open Polo Championship 2021 opened during a press conference held here at the Lahore Polo Club (LPC) ground on Thursday.

The fully crowded press conference was addressed by Brighto Paints Director Marketing Khawaja Zain Sikka, Brand Manager Ali Khan, Lahore Polo Club Secretary General Agha Murtaza Ali Khan, Executive Committee members Shah Qubilai Alam and Agha Najeeb Raza, and Agha Najeeb Raza in the presence of LPC senior members Mir Shoaib Ahmed, CEO Diamond Paints, Faisal Shahzad, CEO Rijas Development, Taimur Ali Malik, Director Guard Group, Adnan Jalil Azam and Alman Jalil Azam, Directors Newage Cables, Major Junaid of Team Remounts, international polo players, members, and media men.

Addressing the press briefing, Brighto Paints Director Khawaja Zain Sikka said: “Brighto Paints is Pakistan’s multinational paints brand and after sponsoring cricket, we have now started supporting polo, which is a game of kings and knights. We will continue to sponsor and support this beautiful game and try to play our key role in further promoting polo in Pakistan.”

Speaking on the occasion, Brand Manager Ali Khan said: “Being one of the major brands of the country, it is our social and moral responsibility to keep supporting sports in the country. In this regard, we have a clear policy of keeping the grounds populated with the players. We are grateful to management of Lahore Polo Club for providing us an opportunity to organize a prestigious polo tournament at the historic Lahore Polo Club. We will continue this support in future too.”

Giving details about the participating teams and the prestigious event, LPC Executive Committee member Agha Najeeb Raza said that total 11 teams have been featuring in this two-week long eight-goal tournament. “We are thankful to our sponsors, Brighto Paints, for patronizing polo, which is the game of kings and knights. We are hopeful that they will continue their generous support for polo and play an important role in the promotion of polo in Pakistan.”

LPC Secretary-General Agha Murtaza Ali Khan, while sharing his views, said: “Top national and international polo players are taking part in this two-week-long eight-goal tournament. The players of Argentina, England, Ireland, Iran, Singapore, and top local players have been exhibiting their prowess during the prestigious event. The finals will be played on December 19, 2021 (Sunday).”

Meanwhile, three matches were decided on the third day of the event. BN/Diamond Paints, Remounts, and Rijas Development/Master Paints won their respective matches here at the historic Lahore Polo Club ground on Thursday. In the first match of the day, BN/Diamond Paints faced tough resistance from Coca Cola Polo Team before winning the thrilling encounter by a close margin of 7-6. Ahmed Ali Tiwana and Abdul Rehman Monnoo emerged as heroes of the day from the winning side as they fired in four and three goals respectively. From the losing team, Tomas Reinoso, Waqas Khan, and Shaikh Muhammad Raffay converted three, two, and one goal respectively.

The second match of the day was dominated by high-flying team Remounts, which outsmarted Monnoo Polo by 8-3. Raja Temur Nadeem was hero of the day for team Remounts with a contribution of fabulous five goals while Nicolas Antinori, Swr (R) Naeem, and ALD (R) Imran Shahid converted one goal apiece. From the losing side, Amir Raza Behboudi banged in a brace and Babar Monnoo struck one.

The third and last match of the day was won by Rijas Development/Master Paints, who defeated Newage Cables/Rivi’s by a narrow margin of 8-7. Mannuel Carranza was in sublime form and smashed in superb seven goals from the winning side while Mohib Shahzad hit one. All the seven goals from the losing team were converted by Tomas Marin Moreno. Today (Friday), three more matches will be decided.