Ghatkopar boys beat Gopi Birla 14-8 to defend under-16 schools crown
PG Garodia's Manan Shah (in blue) attempts a shot on goal against Gopi Birla Memorial School (Walkeshwar) during the U-16 MSSA inter-school handball final at Azad Maidan yesterday. Pic/Suresh KK.
PG Garodia School (Ghatkopar) beat Gopi Birla Memorial School (Walkeshwar) 14-8 to win the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) boys U-16 inter-school handball title for the third consecutive time at Azad Maidan yesterday.
PG Garodia's Manan Shah (in blue) attempts a shot on goal against Gopi Birla Memorial School (Walkeshwar) during the U-16 MSSA inter-school handball final at Azad Maidan yesterday. Pic/Suresh KK.
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It was an exciting contest in the first half as defending champions Garodia found it tough to get past the gritty Gopi Birla boys and the half-time score read a close 5-4 in the Ghatkopar school’s favour. However, during the break, a pep talk from coach Vinod Patil did the trick for PG Garodia, who got their act together following and began scoring at will.
Manan Shah top scored with five goals for PG Garodia, while Sahil Parekh scored four and captain Deep Chandra added two. Deep, the tournament’s highest scorer with 25 goals, said that the coach’s stern words in the break served as a wake-up call to the defending champs. “We were a bit overconfident in the first half and played a sloppy game. But then Patil sir’s warning during the break was just the dose we needed,” said Deep.
Meanwhile, St Mary’s Convent (Mulund) beat PG Garodia 10-3 to win the girls U-16 title.