Pink Sumatrans won the inaugural Malaysia Youth Polo tournament after beating Malayan Tigers and Indochinese Greys in a nail-biting three-way penalty shootout at the Selangor Polo Club on Sunday.
The three sides had earlier finished tied at the top of the Order of Merit with nines points each after garnering three wins and one loss each in the five-team affair over two days.
The Pink Sumatrans quartet of Nik Amar Amsyar, Suleiman Moiz, A.N. Otherto and Amirul Aimann showed nerves of steel to prevail after converting both of their free hits at goal from the 30-yard and 40-yard spots.
Indochinese Greys, represented by Ananya Kannan, A.N. Other, Julian Lancia and Raja Ken, got the better of Malaysian Tigers' Wan Muhammad Muizren, Nala Bosveld, Kabir Kannan and Imran Moiz in a 40-yard shootout in the match for second spot.
In the round robin earlier, Pink Sumatrans earned three wins: against Blue Siberians 4-0, Indochinese Greys 2-0, and Red Bengals 2-0. But their hopes of a 100 per cent winning record were dashed by a 1-0 loss to Malaysian Tigers.
Malaysian Tigers were led by Imran, who was part of the national team that won one gold and one silver at the 2019 Philippines Sea Games. Imran was also named as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Academy of Polo, the tournament was certified by the Malaysia Book of Records as the first-ever Under-21 polo competition held in the country.
Selangor Polo Club president Datuk Seri Tengku Baderul Zaman Sultan Mahmud, the patron of the event, said: "I am keen to see the emergence of new talent that excel in the sport of polo. Malaysia has a wealth of young talent.
"There is nothing stopping us from playing polo at a very good level, especially if we can continue to produce young players.
"My hope is that through such tournaments as the Malaysia Youth Polo Tournament, we cultivate and nurture Southeast Asian young talent to an international level."
The tournament also raised RM64,484 for the WWF-Malaysia's Tiger Conservation Fund. Tan Ming Wai