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RAWALPINDI, March 23: Pakistan edged out India 8-7 in the first match of the SAF Polo Challenge at Rawalpindi Polo Club on Tuesday. India missed a 60-yards penalty at the stroke of final whistle to go down fighting in this opening game of the three-match first leg of the series. The same number of matches in the second leg will be played next month in New Delhi.
The next two matches of the first leg-being promoted as one of the build-up acitivities for the forthcoming 9th SAF Games, will be played at the same venue on Friday and Saturday.
India led the first chukker by a solitary goal but the home team bounced back by winning the next two chukkers 3-0 and 2-1 and drawing the fourth 3-3 to clinch the issue.
Bashir Ali earlier scored four goals for India - three in the fourth and one in the final chukker while Ravi Rathore and Uday Kalaan came up with two and one goal respectively. Bhawani Singh was the fourth player in their team.
For Pakistan, Samiullah Raja and Shah Qubalai Alam scored four goals each. This was the second polo match between the two teams in a few months after Pakistan had won the World Cup qualifier in Lahore against the arch-rivals. The umpires were Zahid Umer and Dhruvpal Gotdara (India) while Mujahid Umer was the referee.
TEAM FOR Argentina
Pakistan's polo team will train in Argentina for the World Cup, disclosed chairman 9th SAF Games Organising Committee, Lt. Gen. Syed Arif Hasan on Tuesday.
He said one of the top Pakistani polo players, Hissam Ali Haider, was already training in Argentina and four more players will join him there in July. "I hope that training in Argentina as well as the series against India and England would stand Pakistan in good stead for the World Cup polo in France in September".
He said more players would be tried in the three-match first leg of the series against India and the best four would be sent to Argentina. -APP
