By IANSlife
New Delhi, Mar 9 (IANSlife): The Sahara Warriors team won the IPA Open 2023, defeating runners-up Jindal Panther by 11-7 in the final match of India Sotheby's International Realty IPA National Polo Championship (Open) polo tournament, here at the Jaipur Polo Ground on Sunday.
Captain Shamsheer Ali (3), Alejo Aramburu (2), Chris Makenzie (4) and Siddhant Sharma scored (2) goals for Sahara Warriors.
Captain Naveen Jindal, Abhimanyu Pathak (2), Juan Ambrosio (2) and Gullermo Terrera scored (3) goals for Jindal Panther.
Mare Alma ridden by Gulermo Terrera owned by Naveen Jindal was adjudged the Best Polo Pony and Siddhant Sharma was adjudged the Most Valuable Player. Lt. Gen Rajinder Dewan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, Quarter Master General and President Army Polo and Riding Centre, Amit Goel, CEO, India Sotheby's International Realty presented the prizes and trophy.
The IPA National Polo Championship is the most prestigious and coveted polo tournament of the country. It is an open tournament in which a maximum of 20 goals teams can participate. It is played over seven chukkas.
"The IPA National Polo championship holds a distinguished position in the polo calendar and embodies a rich legacy of India's finest polo talent spanning almost a century. Congratulations to all the teams. It was well-wrestled game of exceptional skill by both the teams, thoroughly enjoyed by an august audience," said Amit Goyal, CEO, India Sotheby's International Realty.
The final match was attended by over 1,000 guests with Lt. General Rajinder Dewan- AVSM, VSM, QMG, PRESIDENT APRC & Mrs. Isha Dewan as the chief guest and more than 400 VVIPs, including the secretary of the Indian Polo Association Colonel Rohit Dagar, Chairman of Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL) and captain of Jindal Panther Mr Naveen Jindal along with wife Shallu Jindal, Ms Parul Rai owner of the winning team Sahara Warriors, Rajnish Kapoor, Sanjeev Garg of JK Cements, Ravi Talwar CMD of T&T Motors, Aman Gupta co-founder of BoAt, famous designer Shivan & Narresh, Adesh Kumar Gupta with his wife, Devin Narang. Renowned artist Paresh Maity, award winning journalist Shereen Bhan, ambassador of Estonia - Katrin Kivi, ambassador of Ecuador - H.E. Mr. Francisco Teodoro Maldonado Guevara, ambassador of Bulgaria - Eleonora Dimitrova, DHM of Finland Embassy Dr Tito Gronow, Economic Councillor, First Councillor, Embassy of Italy - Francesco Varriale with their spouses also enjoyed the game with other invitees. The match was also enjoyed by children from several schools.
"I would like to thank the Indian Polo Association for giving us the opportunity once again to host this prestigious tournament. Congratulations to the winning team and cheers to all the teams that participated in the tournament for a brilliant performance," said Goyal.