Rishi Bhansali, the man of the moment, owes his success to the team after excelling for Monte Carlo Polo Club’s victory in the final of the Lan To Capital’s Luxury Polo Club at the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club on Sunday.
“In polo it is not the number of goals you score as an individual that matters. It is all being down to team effort. You have positions and you can only perform as a striker when the defence has performed their job. The whole team played well together and a special praise to Rashid Bin Drai and Khalid Bin Drai for their efforts,” said the Belgian national who had a three-goal effort in the 6-4 win over Lan To Capital in the final. Rishi Bhansali had also scored three goals against the same team on Saturday, but his team lost the match.
Great start
“It’s always nice to end a tournament positively. I wouldn’t say my effort went in vain, we all play as a team. We are at the beginning of the season and getting into the game. It is important not push the horses. I am happy to have a great a great start to the season,” said Bhansali, who took to polo six years ago in a bid to extend his love for horseriding after being a showjumper at the early stages of his life.
Bhansali, who moved to Dubai in 2009, says Dubai is probably the best place to play polo with the pristine facilities and a long season.
“Dubai is probably one of the best places to play polo. You have three clubs in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi and you have a very long season. For most countries, the season lasts probably four months but here it is six to eight months, depending on the weather. So you have the ability to maximize the time you get to play in a year. It’s a nice long season starting from October to May sometimes,” he concluded as he is aiming to extend his impressive form thorough the rest of the long season.
