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Our Correspondent
Imphal, Nov. 26 (EMN): Indian A defeated Indian Navy 6-2 in the 1st ground, while India B (Manipur) beat USA team 9-5 in the 2nd ground on the 5th day of the 14th Manipur Polo International tournament on Saturday.
The tournament is organised by the Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association at the historic Mapal Kangjeibung, the oldest polo ground in Imphal.
In the match between the USA and Manipur, the former took the lead as Jorge Vasquez scored in the 1.40th minute of the 1st chukker before P Ojit leveled the score for Manipur in the 2nd minute.
Then JP Vasquez scored for the USA team in the 3.13th and India B (Manipur) captain T Pradeepkumar equalised in the 3.40th minute by converting a beautifully executed 30 yards hit to a goal at the end the chukker.
Pradeepkumar scored from 30 yards (awarded at the end of 1st chukker) in the .04th minute of the 2nd chukker and Ojit struck twice (.14th minute and .35th minute) before L Atangba added another in the 6.16th minute for Manipur.
The honours were evenly shared in the 3rd chukker, as both the teams scored one goal each. P Ojit scored for Manipur in the 7.05th minute while JP Vasquez scored for the USA team in the 4.21 minute. At the end of the 3rd chukker, Manipur led 7-3 against the USA team.
L Rohit, who came in place of Thomson, scored in the 2.55th minute of the last chukker, while L Atangba scored another goal for Manipur in the 3.55th minute. For the USA team, Will Boland and JP Vasquez scored in the 4.17th and 5.13rd minute respectively.
The final score was Manipur 9 goals and USA 5.
In the 2nd match of the day, the India A opened its account with a goal from Ranshay Purohit in the 6.20th minute in the 1st chukker before Hurr-Ali increased the lead in the 2nd chukker to 2-0 for India A, as Indian Navy failed to score in both the chukkers.
In the 3rd chukker, both the teams drew a blank, but in the 4th, India A swamped the Navy team with as many as four goals -- two coming from Hurr-Ali and one each from Ranshay Purohit and Santosh. Indian Navy managed to pull back two goals, both scored by Cdr Panchal, but by then, it was too late for recovery. India A won by 6-2.
On Sunday, November 27, the 6th day of the polo tourney, USA will take on India A, while UK will clash with India B (Manipur).