15th Manipur Polo International Day 2 IPA rally to hold Colombia to 8-8 draw, Manipur beat Chhattisgarh 9-4

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Nov 23 : Indian Polo Association (IPA/India A) staged a fightback in the final chukker to hold Colombia to an 8-8 draw in the second match of the 15th Manipur Polo International being hosted by the Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association at Mapal Kangjeibung.
In the first match of the day, Colombia and India A were evenly poised at the start and were locked at 1-1 in the first chukker with guest player S Bimol striking first for Colombia barely one minute into the game before Mukesh Gurjar scored the equaliser in the closing minute.
Colombia then raced to a 4-2 lead after two chukkers as Alejandro Puyana hammered home three goals in the 1st, 4th and the 7th minutes for the visitors and Vijay Singh scored the only goal in the 3rd minute.
Confident Colombia further swelled their lead to 7-3 in the third chukker with Federico Puyana, S Bimol and Alejandro Puyano taking their turns for Colombia against one added by Rabinder Mang for India-A.
The game however took an unexpected turn as India A closed out the margin riding on a double from Mukesh Gurjar and a goal apiece from Rabinder Mang and Vijay Singh within 4 minutes of the final chukker.
Colombia retained the lead courtesy of S Bimol in the 5th minute but Rabinder Mang scored his third goal of the match to draw level in the 6th minute.
Despite efforts, neither team were able to add to their tally and find the difference in the remainder of the final chukker.
The day also saw hosts Manipur (India B) kickstarting the league campaign of the 5-team tournament with a 9-4 beating of Chhattisgarh (India C).