Manipur beat Colombia 8-5 to win 15th Manipur Polo International title

OSR/DIPR
IMPHAL, Nov 29 : The 15th Manipur Polo International came to a close today with Manipur being crowned as the champions of the 5-team tournament.
The closing ceremony of the event organised by the Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association was graced by  Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla who also led in distributing prizes to the finallists and other participants.
Governor, accompanied by the First Lady, witnessed the thrilling final match of the men’s international polo event between India B (Manipur) and Colombia wherein the hosts came out 8-5 winners to seal the coveted title.
The Governor also released the souvenir of the 15th Manipur Polo International 2025.
The match began with the Governor throwing in the polo ball, and the game drew an enthusiastic audience while highlighting the strong talent and competitive spirit of the players.
The participation of international teams added to the significance of the tournament. The matches also reflected Manipur’s long equestrian tradition and its recognised place as the birthplace of modern polo.
Following the match, the Governor and the first lady distributed prizes to the winners and participants, appreciating their skill, sportsmanship, and dedication.
The Governor then formally declared the tournaments closed.
 President of the Manipur Pony Society, along with other dignitaries and members of the public, witnessed the match.
Manipur, having swept the league round, carried forward the momentum today and were leading 5-1 till halfway mark. They added three more goals in the final two chukkers and overcame Colombia’s comeback with 4 goals to seal the game 8-5.
S Bon Bon starred yet again contributing four goals alone for Manipur as guest player S Bimol and Alejandro Puyana added two goals apiece for Colombia.
Bon Bon added twice in the opening chukker to earn Manipur a 2-1 lead as Bimol scored one for Colombia before  L Atangba, Bon Bon and T Pradeepkumar took their turns in the second period to make it 5-1.
The third chukker saw T Pradeepkumar find his second for Manipur in the 5th minute after Alejandro Puyano pulled back a goal for the visitors in the third minute.
Bon Bon and L Rohit then struck one goal apiece for Manipur in the final chukker as Federico Puyano, Alejandro Puyano and S Bimol found a goal apiece for Colombia to close out the game 5-8.
Winners Manipur were feted with a cash prize of Rs 2,00,000 along with a trophy as runners up Colombia contented with a cash prize of Rs 1,50,000 and a trophy.
Talking about today’s match, Manipur captain T Pradeep Kumar said Manipur had a clear game plan for the final match which the team implemented perfectly after some initial hiccup in the fist chukker.
“The Columbians did not quite figure out our game while we were prepared for everything they threw at us,” Pradeep revealed.
He also shared that the team prepared meticulously watching every match played by Columbia and figuring out how to outsmart them.
“We had planned to mark Bon Bon and Pradeep in this match but did not quite succeed; also me and my brother Alejandro were most of the time a fraction of second late on the ball,” confessed Federico Puyano, the Columbian captain.
 He also felt that missed chances led to their defeat. All and all, he said the Columbian team had a good time and would love to come back if invited again.
Bon Bon became the highest goal scorer in the tournament with an incredible 19 goals to his credit.
 T Pradeep Kumar (capt), L Atangba, L Rohit, T Leishemba, S Saolin and S Bon Bon represented Manipur with S Girimohan as the Coach and K Dhanachandra Sharma as the Manager of the team.
The prestigious tournament was held as part of the Manipur Sangai Festival 2025.