Georgian Cup: Nigerian Immigration polo team aim high


The Nigerian Immigration Polo Team has expressed optimism that in the nearest future, they will up their game from low goal matches to compete in high goal games.
Assistant captain of the team, Deputy Superintendent of Immigration, Edozie Onwuli, expressed this while fielding questions from newsmen on Thursday after they beat Yola Fombina 5-3 in the El-Amin Cup at the ongoing Kaduna International Polo Tournament.


He said, “We are hoping soon we will leave the low goal games and enter the intermediate goal competitions from where we hope to one day feature in the Georgian Cup. In today’s game, we were motivated in last two chukkas due to word of our Comptroller General who spoke to us through Comptroller Passports, we went back to the drawing board, we came back from behind and leveled at 3-3 with them before going on to win 5-3.


“This is our final game, in our first match in the El-Amin Cup, we defeated Kaduna Askira 4 1\2-3. But we are looking at putting a team together for the Jos tournament in December.”
Onwuli, who serves at the Immigration headquarters in Abuja, stressed that due to direction of their CG, Mohammed Babandede who instructed that they put up a team, they  have been participating in the El-Amin Cup of between 0 and +3 handicap.


“I was brought all the way from Oyo Command to join the team. The CG asked to put together players from the service, he asked of players with skills in horsemanship. He is not relenting, we are still in search of more players.”
Speaking on the previous successes recorded by the team, he recalled that in 2018, they finished tops at the Interior Games, played in Kaduna. 


Commenting on this year’s tournament, he said, “Kaduna Tournament is one every player wants to participate in, their hospitality is second to none. In the game of polo, Kaduna is rated as one of first class clubs in Nigeria with beautiful facilities, two playing fields. We saw more teams participate in the El-Amin this year which is exciting.”


“In the Nigerian Immigration Polo Club we have a Chief Superintendent who is captain of team, we have an assistant comptroller who is also member of the team. Immigration as we all know is paramilitary and our core duty is protection of borders. 
“Polo was brought in as military exercise where you learn strategy, tactics, discipline, endurance and others. Monitoring our borders in nearest future where we go through the vast and difficult terrains coverage may require horse riding,” he said.

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