Fri 11th Oct 2024The 1st Arena Singureni Manor Polo CupFirst polo tournament in Romania underway
Today, Friday 11 October, heralds the start of an exciting new chapter for polo, with four international teams including some of the best players in the world competing in the first ever polo tournament in Romania. The inaugural 1st Arena Singureni Manor Polo Cup is being played at the stunning Singureni Manor for the first time, an unrivalled location set amongst 700 hectares of untouched forest, only 20 miles outside the capital city of Bucharest. Cristina Roșu, Founder of Singureni Polo Sports Club Association, commented “This competition marks an historic first for Romania, as we introduce arena polo to our country. Nothing feels more rewarding than starting and helping to build a new tradition, one that we believe will capture the hearts of Romanians. We are confident that they will fall in love with this incredible sport.” Polo connects people from across the globe, as Winston Churchill famously said, “A polo handicap is a passport to the world” and this is certainly true this weekend as the 1st Arena Singureni Manor Polo Cup project has been made possible in just nine months with World Polo, Singureni Manor and H.E. Ambassador to Switzerland Massimo Baggi combining their passion for polo to bring this event to life. Reto Gaudenzi, World Polo Founder and President, also known as the Godfather of Snow Polo after he created the iconic Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz in 1985, is delighted to be organising this historic match. “Over the last 46 years I have had the honour of organising and playing polo all over the world and this weekend marks World Polo’s 100th polo tournament which is a huge milestone”. Yesterday, the Players’ Presentation took place at the Hotel InterContinental Athénée Palace Bucharest, with the glamorous evening hosted by H.E. Ambassador to Switzerland Massimo Baggi to also celebrate the Swiss National Day. Swiss Alphorn and traditional Romanian longhorn players welcomed the guests harking from all corners of the globe. Today, the action began in the brand new polo arena, created especially for this weekend’s event, with Team St Moritz Top of the World, Switzerland vs Team AQUA Carpatica/ Grand Champions Polo Club. A sell-out crowd of spectators, VIP guests and media lined the arena, enjoying the live music, pumping tunes from DJ Erok, trade stands and delicious Romanian food and drink on offer. The all-American Team AQUA Carpatica/ Grand Champions Polo Club had a flamboyant line-up of talent, with Daren Tamplin (0), Grant Ganzi (3) and Nic Roldan (9) in the saddle – the trio won the 11th International Cup against Switzerland in 2022 and were hungry for another victory against Switzerland in this hugely significant inaugural match. Team St. Moritz Top of the World, Switzerland had a formidable line-up of HE Massimo Baggi (1), Pierre Henri Ngoumou (7) and Nick Rogerson (3), as expected they fluently combined in the Singureni Manor arena much to the delight of the enthusiastic crowd. Baggi and Rogerson have experience playing together when they represented Team St. Moritz/ Switzerland in the UAE vs Switzerland Invitational in 2023. David Popovici, Romanian Men’s Swimming Gold medallist at this year’s Olympics started the action with a throw-in. Everyone held their breath as play got underway. Polo handicap differences meant that team Team St. Moritz Top of the World, Switzerland started with a half goal start. With the starting whistle only just being blown, high goal superstar Nic Roldan scored the first ever polo goal on Romanian soil, proving he is truly ‘the man that can’ and his flamboyant skill was rewarded with a lead for Team AQUA Carpatica/ Grand Champions Polo Club which team Team St. Moritz Top of the World, Switzerland were unable to catch for the rest of the match. Despite valiant attempts by Pierre Henri Ngoumou and his ‘boys in blue’, a battle of great play, slick passing and cohesive teamwork meant the final score was 8 goals to 3½ in favour of Team AQUA Carpatica/ Grand Champions Polo Club. The second game of the day was played between Team Azerbaijan Land of Fire and Team CARPATHIAN/ Maltese Falcons, with the Azeri team receiving a half goal advantage on team handicap which in the end proved to be a decisive factor. Team CARPATHIAN/ Maltese Falcons’ Team Captain is none other than ‘The Queen of World Polo’ Melissa Ganzi – she made history as not only the first woman to win The Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz, but who is also now the first female player to compete in Romania. Team Azerbaijan Land of Fire are also no strangers to World Polo tournaments, having won The Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz in both 2022 and 2023. This was a fast-paced, high octane dual, which saw both sides evenly matched with equal flair on both sides. The fast pace refused to relent throughout the match, keeping the spectators on the edge of their seats; with commentary in both English and Romanian courtesy of Jan-Erik Frank ‘The Voice of Polo’ and Maximilian Radu Munteanu, all eyes were on the action unfolding in the arena. With both teams desperate for victory on the first day it was a busy last chukka which saw missed oppourtunites for both teams as the pressure mounted. Losada scored again for Azerbaijan, but Melissa Ganzi slotted home a penalty in the last 30 seconds of the game. But it was just a little too late, and with the final scores resting at 4 goals to the Maltese Falcons and 4½ to Azerbaijan it was the boys from the Land of Fire who secured the second victory of this historic day in Romania. The 1st Arena Singureni Manor Polo Cup action continues tomorrow, Saturday 12 October, with Team CARPATHIAN/ Maltese Falcons vs Team St. Moritz Top of the World, Switzerland and Team AQUA Carpatica/ Grand Champions Polo Club vs Team Azerbaijan Land of Fire. The 1st Arena Singureni Manor Polo Cup Teams: Team St. Moritz - Top of the world, Switzerland (11): HE Massimo Baggi/Daniel Savary (1), Pierre Henri Ngoumou (7) & Nick Rogerson (3) Team, Malta (12): Melissa Ganzi (0), Nacho Figueras (5) & Alejandro Novillo Astrada (7) Team AQUA Carpatica/Grand Champions Polo Club Wellington, USA (12): Daren Tamplin (0), Grant Ganzi (3) & Nic Roldan (9) Team Azerbaijan Land of fire, Azerbaijan (11): Elchin Jamalli (3), Tarlan Gurbanaliyev (1) & Juan Cruz Losada (7) (Reserves: Ali Rzayev (1) & David Lagomarsino (4)) Photograph: Action from day 1 of The 1st Arena Singureni Manor Polo Cup. By ©www.imagesofpolo.com |