Polo: Kenya Ladies overcome Zambia in Lusaka International Championships

The Kenya national Women Polo Team(in red T-Shirts and white trousers) pose for a group photo with hosts Zambia(black T-Shirts and white trousers) after the finals of Lusaka International Championships in Zambia over the weekend. Kenya won 6-3. [PHOTO COURTESY]

For the second time, Kenya beat Zambia 6-3 to win the Lusaka International Championships over the weekend.

The explosive 14-goal-six-chukka- match played at Lilay Polo Club in Lusaka saw Kenya score their goals spread in all the chukkas with captain Izzy Parsons putting the ball through the sticks three times from the efforts of teammates Tiva Gross, Cheza Millar and Aisha Gross who each also scored a goal.

The Zambian team of Jade Pinkney, Sally Jellis, Pammy Greenshields and Megan Vilijeon also gave a good account of themselves by making a comeback in the third chukka to reduce the deficits from Greenshields and Vilijeon in the second and subsequent chukkas.

Greenshields who got injured in the second chukka was later replaced by Nunu Henderson.

Parsons described the match as a tough fought low scoring game, which had lots of fun.

“It was a tough match with very few goals but with lots of fun. The Zambians were very generous to us by lending us their horses, which we used to beat them at their backyard,” Parsons told Standard Sports at Lusaka International Airport before taking a flight back to Nairobi.

The national Women Polo Team pose for a group photo after beating Zambia 6-3 to lift the Lusaka International Championships at Lilay Polo Club in Lusaka over the weekdend. [PHOTO COURTESY]

Parsons was voted as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and her pony Ping Nymph, the Best-Playing-Horse.

It was a tough match for both teams but the Kenyan ladies emerged victorious from their team efforts in the six-chukka-match, the visitors dominated over their hosting opponents in almost all the chukkas.

Upon their arrival in Lusaka on Friday last week, the Kenyan ladies were involved in atwo-day- pink (mixing players from both sides) polo matches with the Zambians as they tested the Zambian horses ahead of the epic match last Sunday.

In 2019, the Zambians were also beaten by their Kenyan counterparts at Manyatta Polo Club in Gilgil, which necessitated the reciprocal visit to Lusaka.

As the Kenyan ladies were running riot in Lusaka, Zambia’s Men National Team is expected in Kenya next week for a 17-goal-Kenya International Championships to be hosted at Manyatta Polo Club in Gilgil from Friday to Sunday next week.

The Zambians are expected to arrive two days before the match to test the Kenyan horses according to Kenya Polo Association President Gordon Millar.

To test some of the horses to be used in the Kenya International Championships, the same venue will host Mugs of Mugs Championships from Friday to Sunday this week.