His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen, Her Royal Highness Princess Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah, Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Bahar and the Brunei polo team on the podium. PHOTO: INFOFOTO
Photos show His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen and Her Royal Highness Princess Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah in action. PHOTO: INFOFOTO
PHOTO: INFOFOTO
Brunei Darussalam clinched a bronze medal in polo at the 33rd SEA Games after edging Indonesia 6-5 in a hard-fought 4-6 goals playoff on Friday.
The result brought Brunei’s final medal haul at the Games to one gold, three silver and five bronze.
The Brunei side featured His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen, Her Royal Highness Princess Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah, Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Bahar and Farid Abdullah, with Huzaimi Mahari, Mohd Mazhodir and Idris Sirat listed as substitutes.
Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Bahar proved decisive, scoring five of Brunei’s six goals, including the match-winner in the closing chukka.
Brunei made a solid start, with His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen and Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Bahar each striking in the opening chukka to level the score at 2-2. The contest then settled into a tense rhythm, with both sides cancelling each other out in a scoreless second chukka.
After the interval, Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Bahar nudged Brunei ahead, only for Indonesia to respond with two goals to restore parity at 4-4.
The decisive fourth chukka saw Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Bahar rise to the occasion once more, adding two crucial field goals. Indonesia pulled one back late on, but Brunei held firm to seal a narrow and well-earned victory.
The win secured Brunei a place on the podium and capped a strong showing for the Sultanate’s polo contingent at the 33 SEA Games. – JAMES KON
