Argentina are world champions again. In a final that needed overtime, they beat Chile 8-7 at the Sydney Polo Club on Sunday 29 October to win the XI FIP World Polo Championship, their fifth title, with a golden goal from Lucio Fernández Ocampo.
The final
This was not a game of long runs. The early goals were mostly from penalties, and the intensity rose as it went on. In the fifth chukka the teams were level at 5-5 when Chile scored a goal about a minute before the bell. Fernández Ocampo, with a spectacular run, scored again to level the match. The last chukka was dramatic, with Chile having the better of the chances, but neither side could separate itself, and in overtime Fernández Ocampo scored the golden goal. He was named Most Valuable Player. The Best Playing Pony award went to Milo, a nine-year-old gelding lent to the event by Jack Mantova and his father Steve, of Clifton on the Darling Downs. Milo was one of roughly 280 horses lent by the Australian polo community.
The bronze medal match
England beat the United States 6-5 in overtime for third place. England started strongly with a field goal and a penalty, and Felipe Viana and Jesse Bray got the USA on the board in the second and third chukkas. Viana then scored twice in a row in the final period to give the Americans their first lead, but England’s Satnam Dhillon tied the game in the closing minutes. In overtime, Peter Webb converted a penalty for the golden goal. Bray was given the Sportsmanship Award.
Pool results
- Pool A: Argentina beat the United States 12-9½, Spain 12-3½ and Australia 9-5½. The USA beat Australia 7-5 and Spain 15-9½. Australia beat Spain 10-9.
- Pool B: England beat India 16-1 and Chile 8-5, but lost 11-8 to New Zealand. Chile beat New Zealand 9-2 and India 11-2. New Zealand beat India 9-8.
England’s pool win over Chile was one of the stories of the week, but Chile still reached the final and gave Argentina a real scare. The organisers and Sydney Polo Club were widely praised, with the whole event described as one of the best in the tournament’s history.
For Argentina it is a fifth world title, and for Australia it is a championship that will be remembered for its drama and for the way the local polo community pulled together to stage it.
Sources: U.S. Polo Association, Wikipedia, Farm Online
