The Chembur youngsters put up a brave approach and matched their fancied opponents and the scores ran close throughout.
The triumphant Gokuldham (Goregaon) boys with their MSSA U-14 handball trophy at Azad Maidan on Monday. PIics/ Suresh Karkera
Defending champions Gokuldham High School (Goregaon) encountered a strong opposition from an upbeat Ryan International School (Chembur) as the two teams were engaged in a grim tussle for supremacy in the boys U-14 final of the MSSA inter-school handball tournament at Azad Maidan on Monday.
Chaitya wins it
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The Goregaon team's ace shooter Chaitya Shah in a last-ditch effort scored a decisive goal, which helped his school carve out a tense and nerve-wracking 13-12 victory.
The Chembur youngsters put up a brave approach and matched their fancied opponents and the scores ran close throughout. With only a couple of seconds remaining on the clock, the match was evenly poised at 12-all before Gokuldham produced a snap counter-attack. Chaitya scored the crucial match-winning goal with a powerful jump shot to clinch the victory and ensure his school retained the crown.
JB Vachha (Dadar) girls celebrate with the U-14 handball trophy after their win over Vibgyor ICSE (Goregaon) in the final on Monday
The Gokuldham team started in aggressive fashion as pivot player Arya Rane's clever distribution of the ball created the openings for Chaitya who went on to score seven goals, including the winner and Sunil Rane chipped with four goals. Arya and Yash Vyas scored the other two goals.
Ryan International player Kuvam Chaudhary top-scored with six goals and Jaskirat Singh Arora scored four, while Vivaan Sanghani and Kunesh Chaudhary struck one each.
On an adjacent field, JB Vachha High School for Girls (Dadar) displayed perfect coordination and teamwork to overcome Vibgyor ICSE (Goregaon) by a 8-4 margin after racing to a 4-1 half-time lead.
Saancha shines
The Goregaon girls, who were champions in 2018, finished second best for the second successive year. They were unable to put up much of fight as Saancha Tiwari waged a lone battle and scored all the four goals. The Dadar schoolgirls, who were better organised in attack, were well-served by Mihira Shelar, who scored three goals while Pearl Gala and Gargi Thakur contributed two goals each. Heer Boricha added on to complete their win and emerge champions.
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