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The Kashmir Challenge Cup came to its rightful conclusion on Sunday as the Jaipur Polo Team, led by Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur, defeated Kanota Polo 9-5 in an exciting matchup at the Rajasthan Polo Club.
For Jaipur, it was their captain, Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh, and South African polo ace Lance Watson who continued their immaculate form throughout the tournament, scoring four and five goals, respectively. This was the third meeting between the two teams after being placed in the same pool at the beginning of the tournament, with all matches going in Jaipur's favour. Jaipur started aggressively, with Lance Watson scoring two early goals (1:25 and 6:35), giving his team a 2-0 lead. Kanota Polo, on the other hand, couldn't find the target in the opening period. In the second chukker, Jaipur continued their momentum as Lance Watson added another goal (3:35) to make it 3-0. Just when Kanota Polo seemed out of sorts, they launched a counterattack with goals from Ashok Chandna (4:00) and Dino Dhankhar (6:40), but Jaipur still led 3-2 halfway through the game. The third chukker saw rapid scoring from both sides. Jaipur's Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh struck twice (1:20 and 5:40), and Lance Watson added one more at 4:10. Kanota fought back with two goals from Hurr Ali (5:46 and 6:35). At the end of the chukker, the scoreline stood at Jaipur 7 - Kanota 4. The final chukker belonged to Jaipur, as they maintained control, scoring again at 0:54 to push the lead to 8-4. Hurr Ali scored Kanota's final goal at 1:40, but a last-minute strike from Lance Watson sealed the match at 9-5 in Jaipur's favour. (ANI)
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