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New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Sol deserved MVP award, says polo coach
KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur Academy of Polo (KLAP) coaching director, Agha Murtaza Ali, praised Team Malaysia for their resilient performance in the Malaysia Youth Polo Tournament (MYPT) on Sunday (Aug 17). Despite trailing early on, Malaysia went on to defeat International All Stars 9-3 in the final at the Kuala Lumpur Polo Club to clinch the title. Agha said he was especially impressed by Malaysia team captain Sol Moiz. The Malaysian squad was composed of Zaid Kamil, Alyssa Ling, Nadaraj Parthiban and Moiz brothers Ashman, Arman and Sol. "The international team were very good and were at one point leading three goals to two but the Malaysian team just kept coming back at them," said Agha yesterday. "It was an amazing display of horsemanship and polo, especially by the Moiz brothers. "Sol scored a lot of goals and was amazing overall, he anchored his team and made all the plays. "He deserved to get the Most Valuable Player award for the final. I am very happy for him." Sol, 17, scored four goals and managed one assist in the final. International All Stars fielded Ayaan Khan (Ind), Qaid Choudhury, Jasper Hagger (both UK) and Miqayl Djedovic (Cro) for the tournament. MYPT, which is organised by KLAP, was in its fourth edition this year. Agha believes the competition will continue to play an important role in talent development in the future. "MYPT is in its fourth edition this year and will continue to grow in the future," said Agha. "KLAP works with a lot of players - around 200 to 250 - from across Asia each year and is one of Southeast Asia's largest academies. "That is why we put a large amount of effort into polo youth development." KLAP's youth development efforts bode well for Malaysian hopes in the sport. The senior national team has done well in polo at the Sea Games level, winning one gold at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur games and one gold and one silver at the 2019 Manila edition. The sport was left out during the 2021 Hanoi and 2023 Phnom Penh editions but will make its comeback at the Thailand Sea Games this year (Dec 9-20).
New Straits Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Team Malaysia claims Malaysia Youth Polo crown
KUALA LUMPUR: An inspired Team Malaysia claimed the Malaysia Youth Polo Tournament (MYPT) trophy with an emphatic 9-3 win over International All Stars at the Kuala Lumpur Polo Club in Ampang today (Aug 17). International All Stars, who fielded Ayaan Khan (Ind), Qaid Choudhury, Jasper Hagger (both UK) and Miqayl Djedovic (Cro), started strong and briefly led 3-2 in the four-chukka final. The Team Malaysia squad, composed of Zaid Kamil, Alyssa Ling, Nadaraj Parthiban and brothers Ashman, Arman and Sol Moiz, however, came back strong and took a 5-3 lead by the end of the second chukka. Team Malaysia extended their lead to 7-3 by the end of the third and continued to assert their authority in the final quarter. Sol, who captained Team Malaysia, was the standout player, scoring four goals and one assist to be named Most Valuable Player for the final. The 17-year-old had also won the MYPT title last year with Team Moiz Boys. "This is my fourth time competing in MYPT and it was great to be able to represent Malaysia," said Sol. "Competing here was a great experience, we made friends, scored some goals and assisted some. It was a great overall experience. "I am also happy to keep the championship (after winning it last year)." Qaid, 16, who managed one goal and one assist in the final, said the International All Stars tried a variety of strategies to no avail. "Most of the Malaysian team are brothers so they have good chemistry and understanding while we were quite new to each other," said Qaid. "It was a tough game and for the first two chukkas it was quite close. But after that, the Malaysian boys' just kept scoring. "We tried different strategies, we tried marking different people, we tried playing wide, we tried playing narrow. "We kept trying though and put up a good fight until the end." MYPT, which is intended to give young polo players from Malaysia and abroad competition exposure, is in its fourth edition this year.
