Klarita Gallops to Gold

The 2023 Malaysia polo season at KLPC started off with an undefeated run and tournament win for our team Klarita! This team had a super cool dynamic with 4 solid players that could play and had good chemistry. This team featured Mr.Peter Abisheganaden who anchored the team at number 4. Then Ameer Jumabhoy who played fantastic in this tournament, usually in the number 2 slot. Next there was Aimann who I have played with lots before, and finally me playing as the number 3. We also had Agustin Andrada coaching us throughout the tournament.

This tournament was a great learning experience because I started to understand the concept of taking the man. Everyone says to "mark your man" but this can look like many things and is not always straightforward. In this tournament, I was assigned the task of marking the best players on the opposing team. This was, in the case of our toughest opponent La Familia Windhorse Gold, Amran Selamat. Amran is a two-time SEA Games high-goal champion. Amran was the highest-ranked polo player in the tournament. Our team knew that taking Amran out of the game was the key to winning the game, and my efforts proved successful as we beat La Familia Windhorse Gold in both of our meetings.

The highlight of this tournament was scoring a lofty safety 60 in the finals of the tournament. This was a great feeling given penalties were something I had been focusing on and practicing all tournament. Also, I was also honored to be selected for MVP, an award that could have gone to any one of the players on our team. This low-goal win was a perfect way to start off the season and I hope that the season continues with more tournaments, and hopefully more wins.

Here is a link to two of Pete's blog posts on the tournament. The Best Seat in the House as we make our way through the first week of play, and then Klarita Kills It reflecting on the tournament win.

Below are the a few highlights in some of the matches:

Blasting a safety 60 in the final:

Nearside tapping goal in the semis:

Tapping through to goal:

Sneaky steal play:

Flat out running the field with Coyo the little pony that could: