Thakur striker Arnav gains through pain

Thakur Public School striker Arnav Singh (left) scores against Dr Antonio D’Silva High School on Friday. Pic/Atul Kamble

Thakur Public School (TPS) (Kandivli) marched into the quarter-finals of the boys U-16 Division-II Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school football tournament with a 2-0 win over Dr Antonio D'Silva High School (Dadar) at Wings Sports Centre, Bandra, on Friday.

Arnav Singh, a talented forward, who represented the Maharashtra state team at the BC Roy Memorial tournament in Punjab last month where he suffered a knee injury during a 2-2 draw against Mizoram, played through pain and emerged as the star for his school outfit. It took just 60 seconds for Arnav to score - slotting the ball into the right corner to give TPS the lead.

The Antonio D'Silva boys tried to regroup and push forward, but the Thakur lads maintained their composure and control. After the break, Aadi Tembulkar doubled Thakur's lead (23rd min) by capitalising on a defensive lapse to make it 2-0. The Kandivli side's defence then held firm, denying their opponents any scoring opportunities while booking their spot in the last eight.

Thakur coach Prasad Bhosale emphasised on Arnav's importance to the team, saying, "He is our main offensive threat. I knew about his injury and had advised him to rest, but he refused, so I told him, ‘If you score in the first 10 minutes, only then I'll allow you to play more', and he did." Singh's motivation to push through the pain barrier is to help his school reach Div-I next season. "This is my last year in school [Class X[. I want our team to earn a promotion. I know I have to take care of my leg, but my team needs me," said Arnav.

Other results

>> RN Podar (Santacruz) 4 (Atharva Gangwar, Nirvaan Kale, Jayorit Bagchi, Marwan Agashe) beat Holy Cross (Kurla) 0
>> Hiranandani Foundation (Powai) 3 (Preehan Shetty 2, Avyukt Nair) beat St Aloysius (Bandra) 0
>> Jamnabai Narsee (Juhu) 2 (Meir Kadakia 2) beat VCW AVM (Bandra) 0
>> Aditya Birla World Academy 4 (Rishi Jhaveri 2, Aarav Lathi, Ishaan Bhartiya) beat Rajhans Vidyalaya (Andheri) 0