Hissam Hyder, Pakistan’s leading polo player,and Kassem Shafi’s Team Shalimar lost to Team Ferne Park by a single goal, 9 – 8, in the final of the prestigious Royal Windsor Cup 2013. Her Majesty The Queen attended the concluding match of the tournament and distributed awards to the participating teams on the occasion.
The final match was a high scoring and closely contested affair, with Ferne Park taking an early lead in the starting chukkers. A late resurgence by Shalilmar in the last 2 chukkers of the match narrowed the gap significantly in the latter half of the game, but unfortunately was not enough to see them through to the finish line. Hissam, the highest handicapped player in his team, played for Kassem Shafi’s Team Shalimar along with Vieri Antinori (5 handicap), Nicolas Antinori (4 handicap) and Kassem Shafi (0 handicap).
Speaking about his Royal Windsor Cup experience, Hissam Hyder said, “It’s disappointing to lose in the final match of a tournament, especially since we played well throughout the competition, but such is the nature of the game. I’m pleased with our overall performance, and am proud to say that we played top notch polo during the last three weeks. We held our own against the sport’s leading mid-goal handicapped players and made it through to the finals of the competition. We may have emerged as runners-up this year, but I am positive that we will bring home the gold in 2014.”
The Royal Windsor Polo Cup is one of the most competitive and prestigious mid-goal polo tournaments in the world and features18 leading teams who participated in this year’s competition.The final of the tournament always proves to be an enjoyable display of high quality polo and is followed by a carriage driven procession, historically performed in front of members of the British royal family.
With a handicap of 6 goals, Hissam Hyder is presently regarded as one of Asia’s top polo players. Hissam has been named as the most valuable player in Pakistan on 6 different occasions and has represented the Pakistani Polo team officially in 3 different World Cups. Internationally he has participated in top, high goal tournaments such as the 2012 Dubai Trophy in England, the 2012 Cope Presidente and the 2011 Duke of Cornwall Trophy and has also participated in the final of the Estimulo in Argentina, unarguably one of the most competitive tournaments of the international polo circuit.
Hissam started playing professional polo in 2001 at the age of nineteen and has since participated in the sport’s most prestigious local and international Polo tournaments. He participated in the qualifying stages of the 1999 World Cup held in India and the 2007 World Cup played in New Zealand. He also has the distinction of representing Pakistan in the main stage of the 2003 World Cup held in France.
Hissam has also been affiliated with some of the world’s most prestigious teams and has played alongside legendary polo players from around the globe. These include Memo Gracida, Player of the Centennial Era and Polo Hall of Fame inductee; Howard Hipwood, arguably the best English polo player ever and Bautista Heguy, another leading Argentinian 10-goaler. He has also played professionally for the Hong Kong team and the Royal Jordanian team in International tournaments. In 2013 he will play for the Shalimar Polo Team in the UK, the Harilela Polo team in Thailand and UK, the Elevation Polo team in India and Argentina, the Tashan Polo team in UK, the Golden Falcons Polo team in UK and he will also represent either the Newage or Hataff Polo teams when they play in Pakistan.
With the lack of infrastructural support for polo in Pakistan, Hissam continues to finance his international career entirely from his own resources. Furthermore, Hissam is the only Pakistani professional player to have his own string of ponies available to him year-round. He maintains his stables in the United Kingdom and Argentina.
Hissam’s commitment to polo goes beyond being just a sportsman. He has used his affiliation with the sport, to raise funds for charities and other needy organisations. Most notably, he took part in various exhibition matches in Jordan to help the victims of the 2010 floods in Pakistan and is always willing to provide a helping hand to worthy causes. Quite apart from polo, Hissam is a passionate sportsman with an interest and good degree of ability for other sporting disciplines such as golf and tennis.
