The Kylin Polo Team hosted an exhibition match a few kilometers away from Guilford. It was organized by Duncan Qiu with the goal of promoting polo in China, where the sport is growing and wants to develop more.
On a day with plenty of sunshine, almost 1,500 people enjoyed two matches of polo, though what is remarkable is that another 800,000 watched the show via TV. The event had a men's match and a women's match, both over four chukkers.
The scores are a minor detail, given the goal is to associate the values of polo on the field to our lives outside of it.
The field was specially prepared for this match alone, with two mobile stands filled to the brim with Chinese fans on one side, and a VIP tent with special catering through both matches.
Duncan Qiu held a press conference in Chinese at the end of the day, which was also broadcast live. With a very optimistic attitude and very strong passion for the sport, he spoke about the values of polo and his enthusiasm to help polo grow within the Asian giant.
“We are trying to build polo in China for the young players”
Duncan Qiu was very happy about the exhibition match hosted at his club. He had the following to say about the event and about polo in China, his nation.
“Today we fought really hard, it was our first game of the season, and obviously our horses weren't ready and we were slow on our feet. Hopefully through the season we'll catch up and do better.
“Polo in China is slowly moving. I think that the issue is that polo is not professional yet, and that is why everyone is working hard to make polo professional. We are trying to build polo in China for the young players.”
“To me, polo means fashion, power and war, it represents the power of your nation and the strength of a nation.”
“Today I just want to show something different in polo and give hope for everybody, especially the professional players. Let them know something new is coming, hopefully everybody can be a part of it and support us.”
“I think we reached the audience, we've given out all the fliers, everyone is happy and they can see the passion of our spectators. I think that we were great today, all the players are happy.”
“The mask comes from the culture of China, it's great to show the world that they can protect their face now, and I think it's beautiful that it is from China, from our nation.”
