King’s Cup Elephant Polo kick off in style
The 2018 King’s Cup Elephant Polo tournament kicked off on Thursday on the banks of Bangkok’s mighty Chaophraya River with a traditional ceremony and morning rituals along with educational activities for over 600 school children.
The opening match saw an Anantara all-star team consisting of India’s National Polo team players the Kalaan brothers, Uday and Angad, and Thailand’s own celebrity professional polo player Ploy Bhinsaeng. Pitted against them were the traditional elephant mahout team consisting of Tao, Mui and Sompotch. The game ended with a close 2-0 win for the all-stars team.
The match of the day was between Johnnie Walker Blue Label captained by Thailand’s Elephant Polo President, Christopher Stafford and King’s Cup debutants, ‘Challenge Everything’ from New York captained by David Partridge. The first chukka ended with Challenge Everything ahead by a nail biting 3-0.
By the end of the second chukka, seasoned veterans Johnnie Walker Blue Label made a stunning comeback due to the outstanding prowess of player Bjorn Richardson, scoring five goals in a row, securing a victory of 5-3.
