Foreign pros are stars to watch
By Bode Ayodele
GUSTAVO Flores of Argentina and his fellow compatriot Santiago Astrada have emerged stars to watch in the on-going Malta Guinness Kaduna International polo tournament holding in Kaduna.
The event, which holds at the Kaduna Polo Club and chukkered-off on a high note on Saturday, ends on Sunday.
Three international polo players - Astrada, Flores and Egyptian, Ali Kashif - are among 26 players battling for honours in the event. But even midway into the weeklong event, spectators are of the opinion that the Argentines are head and shoulders above others in terms of display of skills and mastery on the pony.
"There is no doubt about it Santiago Astrada is by far the most outstanding player in this tournament," a polo buff said.
"Although the game is still in the early stage, if Astrada continues this way, he will surely be in contention for the Most Valuable Player of the event," polo enthusiast, Bill Zaks, told The Guardian.
Though many agreed with Zaks over his views on Astrada, another analyst of the game tipped Flores Gustavo as the man to watch in the tournament.
"It is true that Astrada has been splendid so far but Gustavo has equally been spectacular. At the end of the day, I feel the fight for the best player could be between the two," another spectator remarked.
While Astrada features for Kaduna Fifth Chukka currently featuring in the high goal Georgian Cup, Flores is pitching his camp in the Lagos Trafigura team which campaigns in the Dickenson Cup. Ali Kashif features for Kaduna Lizafa Hotel also in the Dickenson.
Also the Sunday pitching of Lagos Trafigura against Kaduna Glo has been described as the most explosive so far in the on-going event.
A cross-section of spectators spoken to, singled out the match for the suspense it generated and the sublime skill displayed by the players.
"That was a match any polo lover would not want to miss. I am glad that I was there," a fan revealed.
As expected, the Georgian and Dickenson Cup match have elicited a lot of excitement and attracted more spectators than matches in the other categories.
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