Captain of MRS team, Bashir Dantata (Jnr.)lifting high the Emir of Kano Cup

Dantatas Highlight Kano 2013Interntional Polo Festival

New sensations, Bashir Dantata (Jnr.) and Usman Usman Dantata ended a fairytale Kano international polo tournament in scintillating fashion that stands out as one the major highlights of the prestigious polo festival, and underpin a special for the foremost Dantata family in the annals of Nigerian polo

The duo who are cousins from the famed polo crazy family from Kano, let the sparks fly in all direction, leading tournament favourites, Fifth Chukker from Kaduna all the way before winning their first ever Emir of Kano Cup title.

Playing together for the first time before their home crowd, the Dantatas alongside Lereux Hendricks and Tom Debruin reeled off two consecutive victories against Kano Titans and secure a back-to back win over former champions, Fifth Chukker, to emerge the overall champions of the MTN powered polo fiesta.

"It's been a dream come true," Bashir stated of his 2013 campaign which began in March when they shocked everyone including themselves, stealing the Majekodunmi Cup show from the “Big Boys”, before finishing in the third place.

The upcoming Dantatas, who are the fourth generation of players, maintain the rich family tradition with passion and left no one in doubt the special place of the noble game of kings in the family that has produced more business tycoon than any other in the country.

Their Lagos high-goal debut in the colours of the renaissance Anadariyya, the world class team built by the late iconic polo star, Usman Dantata, set the duo up for notice.

"The beginning of the year, our goal was just to get on the high-goal season. It was just to have an idea of what it takes to play Majekodunmi Cup, but the experience and the reception we got from the Lagos crowd, was quite encouraging.”

"The biggest stage is coming next year in Lagos so I'm excited for it," Usman said of their second attempt at the 2014 Majekodunmi Cup campaign. "We are going to keep our fitness and prepare well for what would be a real cracker,”

The 2013 Kano international polo tournament which ended with pomp at the Usman Dantata International Polo Ground left in its wake memorable legacies that would continue to buzz the polo world for a long time to come.

Two of such highlights that secure Kano a special place in the annals of Nigerian polo, include the history making Chairman of Kano Polo, Bashir  Sanusi Dantata who became the first father to play alongside his kids in the history of the tournament that dates back to the early 1920s.

Bashir, who has put close to forty years of tournament polo, competed for the glittering Dangote Cup title with his sons, Bashir Bashir, Abba Bashir and Sanusi Bashir in Kano Alhamdu team. Not much for the title at stake, but as a testimony that the noble game of kings truly run deep in the family.

The legendary Kano polo boss who alongside his cousin and Kano polo captain, Tajudeen Dantata, have worked hard to reposition the king of games in the ancient kingdom, also used that historic moment to drop a hint of his imminent retirement from tournament polo.

“By God’s grace I played in a team with my three kids, Bashir Junior +2, Sanusi +1,Ahmed -2 and myself +2, which is probably the first ever around and, it might be a prelude to my exit from active polo and also my last tournament ,” he hinted.

“But I wish to continue with my normal practice in order to keep fit.” He declared moments before he returned to the saddle leading Kano Dantek with two of his sons in chase of the Dantata Cup.

The highly revered Dantata Cup starring legends of the medium-goals polo attracted three arch rivals like Lagos RTC/Goodfellows, Dantek and Kano Earovote who threw everything at each other in a three games combat.

At the end of the nerve wrecking campaign, it was EaroVote team boosting Kabiru Dantata, Yerima Yusuf and the Crespo brothers of Juan and Andre from Argentina, who came out the winners, to claim their first their Dantata Cup title.

The other was the record setting MTN final that brought the curtain down on the international festival featured eight professional players from Argentina and South Africa in a classic five chukka encounter never seen in the country.

At the end of the historic match up, VTU Plus team boosting Lance Watson +5, Leverx Hendricks +5, Diego White +7 and Tomas Ussher +5, defeated MTN Super Server side parading Juan Crespo +5Andre Crespo +5, Tom Debruin +7 and Duncan Watson +5. 6-4 was the final score line.

VTU Plus carted home the MTN Cup that was decided at the dizzy height of 22 goals, another first in the history of Nigerian polo. It was a showpiece and a befitting climax to the historic polo festival.

Other winners of the MTN/Kano prestigious polo fiesta include the former Finance Commissioner of Lagos State; Olawale Edun who led Lagos Goodfellow team to win the glittering Dangote Cup that pitted ambitious teams from Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna and Kano.

Edun who played alongside his son, Tobi, Khlifa Ibrahim and Tomas Urssher, sank the tall ambition of Kano Terra in the final to pick their first major polo title in Kano.

The low-goal MRS Cup that pitched over twelve teams was won by host, while Fifth Chukker left behind their Emir of Kano Cup loss, to beat Kano Titan to the coveted Muhammadu Sanusi Cup title.