4 days ago
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.
