Youngsters impress at Captain Prize Championships at Nairobi Club

Tanqueray team of winner ofJadini Nzomo, Sharon Allela, Edward Burbidge and Fred Kambo won the Captain Prize Championships at the Nairobi Polo club on Sunday. [Jonah Onyango,Standard]

Once again, the performance of youthful polo players was something that caught the eye in the Captain Prize Championships at Nairobi Polo Club over the weekend.

As was with Archie Camm in the Under-18 Junior International Championships against Zambia in Gilgil two weeks ago, it was the same with Jadini Nzomo during the Captain Prize Championships.

Handicap 2.5 Jadini Nzomo, who was making a comeback after a year's absence, beat all odds to emerge as the Most Valuable Player (MVP).

And his performance is steadily getting into the class of Africa’s top player and handicap 6-Casimir Gross who’s an all-round-player.

After claiming the MVP diadem, Jadini came out as the top scorer with a total of eight goals in the tournament and his pony, christened Ireland, emerged the Best Playing Pony (BPP).

Jadini played for the Tanqueray team of Fred Kambo, Sharon Alela and Ed Burbidge who defeated the Nairobi Hospital team of Raphael Nzomo, Kelvin Jumba, Mbu Ngugi and Alice Owambo 13-8 to win the Captain Prize Championships.

Jadini captained Tanqueray while Raph (Jadini’s father) led Nairobi Hospital.

"It has really been tough, but we managed to beat them (Nairobi Hospital) through teamwork. All of us contributed towards this victory,” Jadini said.

His performance spoke volumes as national selectors are keen on the next crop of players who should be selected to different national sides for the next international assignments.

On the senior’s side of the Captain Prize Championships, Ed Burbidge came out as the MVP while Fred Kambo was one of the outstanding players in the two-day tournament, according to Nairobi Polo Club Captain Jamie Excell.

"They were some of the best players in the weekend tournament. Basically, they were outstanding by their standards and in their own capacities,” Excell told Standard Sports.

Excell announced that the 12-Goal-Six-Team-Mixed-Foursome International Championships that was set for Nairobi Polo Club this month has been switched to Northern Kenya Polo Club in Timau.

"For now the venues in Timau are ideal for such a high caliber of an international assignment”.

The event brings polo players from different countries and they’ll be grouped into six teams.

"These are mixed foursomes (four players of different nationalities but in the same team) of six teams who are required to play together as a composite national side in this international assignment,” Excell said.

For the first time, Kenya will be hosting this kind of international polo assignment that’s mostly practiced in the developed world.

"We’ll also be privileged to host this kind of competition, which should be beneficial to our players,” he said.

It comes at a time when Kenya Polo Association President Jamier Murray had laid out his agenda on how he needs to develop Kenyan polo.

"We need to take Kenyan polo standards to another level. This can only be achieved when we involve them in meaningful international assignments from one event to the other,” Jamie Murray had said.

However, Excell revealed that South African polo players have confirmed featuring into the event.