Polo & More 2014
Polo & More 2014
Manaan Mahdvani of team EFG attempting to take on the
Barbados combo of Richard Gooding and Danny Atwell
WHO’S THE
BOSS
Peppered with Injuries, the 2013 EFG Indian tour of
Barbados saw three resounding victories for the local side
A
By Corey Greaves Photos by Lisa Davis
s the country where the British discovered this “beautiful game”, as polo is sometimes called, India stands
as a pivotal player in our knowledge and appreciation
of the game. It has produced a number of notable players and
their style and finesse of play, has captivated spectators around
the world over the years. In Barbados, we have had the benefit
of a number of visiting Indian teams, so were thrilled on the
2013 roster to welcome the mighty Kalaan brothers and their
Swiss sponsored team – such is the globalization of polo.
Making the trip for the EFG Bank Indian team this time
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around were Robert Mehm (1), Manaan Mahdvani (1), and
brothers Angad Kalaan (4) and Uday Kalaan (4), two of India’s
best known and highest handicapped players.
On paper, India looked to be the likely victors in this battle to
carry off the coveted Digicel Challenge Trophy. However as we
all know, things are rarely what they appear to be, and factors
such as strange horses, and unpredictable circumstances (in
this case serious injury), have a way of altering what might
seem like a foregone conclusion. That said the Apes Hill
Barbados team was not about to surrender their home turf
without a fight and set out in dogged fashion
to demonstrate who was the boss, in this four
match series.
The team for the opening match was a “force
of nature”; Jamie Dickson, Teddy Williams,
Pablo Crespin and Oliver Williams.
Determined to assert their dominance from
early on, it was the visitors, with a goal from
Uday Kalaan that got things rolling, after a
number of missed opportunities by the home
side. The second chukker saw an intense, high
paced battle ensue that required the umpires
to be called into action on numerous occasions.
Barbados continued to be off target during
this chukker, despite a number of cracking
plays and some impressive stick work, that
just went slightly wide of the mark. Their
constant bombardment of the visitors’ goal kept
them in the game, even though they were not
scoring, neither were the visitors, as they were
constantly occupied in defence. Eventually their Barbados’ Jamie Dickson on the move, leading EFG’s Uday Kalaan
persistence paid off as Crespin moved the ball up the field to within meters of the goal before he was ridden off, however
Dickson was there to collect the loose ball and completed the task to finally level the scores at 1-1. With mere seconds to the
end of the chukker, Dickson sent his second goal through the uprights, and the Apes Hill Barbados team were up and away,
leading 2-1 at the start