Thanks brother!

Riding high on Aditi Shetty's solitary goal, Mary Immaculate Girls High School (Borivli) yesterday successfully defended their Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) U-16 football title at Azad Maidan with a 1-0 win over Carmel of St Joseph (Malad). This is the school's third title in the U-16 section.u00a0

Mary Immaculate's Aditi Shetty (centre) is tackled by Carmel of St Joseph players. Pic/Suresh KK

Though there has always been a healthy rivalry with twin brother Aditya, Aditi thanked him after the win. "My brother was allowed to play football. I hated playing with dolls.

"He would never allow me to play with him in the colony. So, I would play with others. I always wanted to be at par with my brother. Maybe he is the reason for me doing well today," said Aditi, who converted a penalty kick in the eighth minute.

Aditya Shetty

Meanwhile, Karen Pias of Mary Immaculate was adjudged best player of the tournament for scoring 11 goals. Mary Immaculate coach Luke Rosario expected a better result in the final.

"We were not up to the mark. Aditi and Karen have scored consistently. I expected a 4-0 result," said Rosario.u00a0In the third place tie, Apostolic Carmel (Bandra) defeated Lilavatibai Podar (Santacruz) 5-3 via tie-breaker.u00a0