Malaysia eyes top three spot in the polo World Cup qualifier

Tuesday, 08 March 2011 05:36

A bunch of "very talented" individual polo players will carry Malaysia's hopes and aspirations for a historic place in the Federation of International Polo (FIP) World Cup Finals, scheduled to be held in San Luis, Argentina in October.

National skipper Shaik Reismann said despite being one of Asia's most established polo nations, Malaysia had never made it to the FIP World Cup Finals.

"But with a stronger team this year, Malaysia look positive for a top three finish in the eight-team FIP Polo World Cup Zone D qualifier which will be played at three historic polo clubs at Royal Pahang Polo Club, the Royal Selangor Polo Club and the Putrajaya Equestrian Park from June 11 until 26," he said in a statement, on Monday.

Shaik, the only Malaysian player with World Cup experience, having played for Singapore in India in 2000, said: "Today, Malaysia are a strong team with lots of confidence in finishing in the top three for a place in the finals."

Apart from Malaysia, the other teams in the Zone D qualifier vying for a ticket to Argentina are Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Nigeria and Singapore.

"Right now you can see a lot of chemistry between the players. This is certainly a plus point for the team and starting this month, the team will increase their training tempo as the tournament draws nearer," he said.

Mohd Shaik picked Australia, South Africa and New Zealand as the front runners in the qualifier but in the same breath pointed out that every team including Malaysia was good as any other.

"It is going to be a very tough and physical tournament. We are also keeping our fingers crossed that the weather will hold out. The weather is the worst nightmare in polo, if it rains it will be hard on the teams," added Mohd Shaik, who plays with a +3 Handicap.