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Polo: India score thrilling win vs Pakistan, clinch World Cup spot
The Indian polo team played some close matches in Tehran to win a World Cup berth from their zone
India defeated Pakistan 8-7 in a crucial qualifying match of the Polo World Cup in Tehran on Friday. With the win, India qualified for the finals of the championship, scheduled to be held in October in Sydney.
Both teams fought well but India put pressure on Pakistan from the start and scored quick goals. Pakistan bounced back, and the score read 7-7 in the last chukker. However, in the dying minutes, India secured a penalty and Dhruvpal Godara converted it to seal the match.
Earlier, India beat hosts Iran 10-8 in their opening game. In the next, they beat South Africa 6-5. The score was 5-5 at the end of the fourth chukker. In sudden death, Padmanabh Singh scored the golden goal to complete a second straight win for his team.
The Federation of International Polo (FIP) conducts the World Cup Polo championship, a 14-goal tournament every three years. It is played by countries who are members of the FIP. Elimination rounds are played on a zonal basis and one country from each zone plays the finals. India fall in Zone E.
The inaugural tournament was held in 1987, hosted by Argentina, who are four-time winners.
The Indian squad that won in Tehran: Col Ravi Rathore (captain); Dhruvpal Godara; Angad Kalaan; Siddhant Sharma; Padmanabh Singh; Pranav Kapur; Uday Kalaan (coach)
