Keeping up with Polo – FIP World Championship
There is so much good polo going on right now (well there always is) and I am on duty, I am not actually working, just sitting around in my apartment on standby. I mean I can’t complain and I love my job, but sometimes I really wish I could teleport myself to other places and back again in seconds, but until that is possible (one can dream) I will just watch polo online and keep updated through my favorite polo sites; 30jardas, PoloLine, Hurlingham Media, LivingPolo and a few more, but these were the ones I was being a nerd on today, if you are not yet a polo nerd and want to know what I am talking about read my post What is polo? first.
The Federacion Internacional de Polo (FIP) had to delay the start of the World Championships due to heavy rain, so the inaugural matches were held yesterday Friday the 27th of March 2015 at the San Cristobál Polo and Racing club in Santiago de Chile. The first match was Brazil against Argentina.
The Brazilian Flag
Team Brazil:
Gustavo Garcia 4
Eduardo Parisi 2
João Novaes 4
Gabriel Villela 4
The Argentinian Flag
Argentina:
Pablo Ávalos 2
Marcos Panelo 4
Bautista Bayugar 5
Salvador Jauretche 3
I am half Brazilian, so I was of course rooting for my country and they won!! It was a tight match with Argentina taking the lead in the first chukker, they stood equal in the second and third, but then the Brazilians took the lead by far in the fourth, only to have Argentina follow closely in the fifth chukker and it all ended in a close 9-8 score. The match progression was the following for Brazil: 0-3, 3-3, 4-4, 8-4, 9-8.
Brazil vs Argentina photo from 30jardas.com.br
Brazil vs Argentina photo from 30jardas.com.br
After the lovely inaugural celebration the second match was on between Chile and England.
The Chilean Flag
Chile:
Mario Silva 2
Ignacio Vial 4
Felipe Vercellino 4
José Miguel Pereira 4
The English flag
England:
George Pearson 2
Jack Hyde 2
William Emerson 5
Peter Webb 5.
Being on home-turf the Chilean team had a large group of supporters on the sidelines and maybe this helped raise their confidence and lead the match pretty much all the way through.
Spectators at the FIP World Championship in Chile
In the first half of the match Chile was leading big and could relax, but in the fourth chukker a few fouls and complaints gave the England team some advantage and at the very end of the fifth chukker Webb scored a goal making the scores even and taking the match in to a sudden death overtime chukker. A foul by the English team rewarded the Chileans a 60-yard penalty shot, which the young Felipe Vercelino gracefully converted in to a goal and securing team Chile their first win in the FIP World Championship.
Match progression for Chile: 2-4, 4-2, 5-4, 7-5, 9-9, 10-9
Chile vs England photos from 30jardas.com.br
The championships will continue until April 1st on the grounds of San Cristobál Polo and Riding Club in Santiago de Chile, this is the second time a World Polo Championship is held in Chile.
FIP World Championship timetable. photo from mundialdepolo on Twitter
All the action is streamed live on www.cdo.tv
