Turfing it out to win in rink

Young footballers from eight city schools competed fiercely under a scorching afternoon sun at the middayrsquos Ranis of Rink 2022 at Arena 31 Turf Neville DrsquoSouza ground in Bandra on Friday Arya Vidya Mandir AVM Juhu emerged victorious in the second edition of Mumbairsquos first girls U16 interschool football tournament beating Dhirubhai Ambani International School DAISDronacharya Lifetime Achievement awardwinning football coach Bimal Ghosh presenting AVM Juhursquos Radhika Vyas the Best Forward trophyThe underlying potential of upcoming women footballers in the city reflected incredibly in this tournament of 16 matches All eight teams refused to give an inch as they engaged in a freespirited yet passionate contest right through the dayDynamic RadhikaAVM Juhu powered by their diminutive and dynamic striker Radhika Vyas cruised their way to the top prize by defeating DAIS in a penalty shootout of the summit clash The match was stuck at 11 at the end of regular time courtesy a goal each by Navya Dholakia DAIS and Stuti Kothari AVM Juhu DAIS seemed to have made notes from AVM Juhursquos previous matches and kept Vyas in check for the entirety of the grand finaleFriend supporter and wellwisher of Ranis of Rink Ronnie DrsquoSouza presents the Best Goalkeeper award to AVM Juhursquos Anoushka PatniHowever the champions displayed tremendous teamwork by ensuring that multiple players stepped up at different stages of the competition Their goalkeeper Anoushka Patni saved both spotkicks taken by DAIS in the shootout before Vyas slotted the ball comfortably into the back of the net to put the game to bedNo lack of quality footballAVM Juhu DAIS Bombay International BIS and Apostolic Carmel were the four teams that proceeded to the semifinals following the group stage matches There was little to separate them in terms of quality and that was evident from the fact that the outcome of both the semifinals had to be decided through a penalty shootout eventuallyMumbai Football Association MFA treasurer Udayan Banerjee gives away the Best Defender trophy to AVM Juhursquos Kavya Aher rightDAIS and BIS played out a goalless draw but the formerrsquos custodian Saanvi Agarwal made a critical save to steer her team to the final encounter On the other hand Vyas and Mahek Sanghvi Apostolic Carmel got on the scoresheet in the second semifinal The two sides were level at 11 after the first three spotkicks in the shootout However Norah Bhattacharya and Patni from AVM Juhu converted their shots into goals as Carmelrsquos goalkeeper Vaibhavi Parmar missed the target her teamrsquos hopes of making it to the final dashed All was not lost for the losing semifinalists as they soon faced off in the thirdplace playoff to secure the bronze medalSEE PHOTOSAVM Juhu beat Dhirubhai Ambani 32 to win U16 Ranis of Rink 2022 football tournamentDhirubhai Ambanirsquos Mahika Praveen second from left vies for the ball with Zia Shah of Bombay Scottish Mahim during a group stage match of the middayrsquos Ranis of Rink tournament in Bandra on FridayBIS asserted their supremacy over Apostolic Carmel by beating them 30 in this match that was held just prior to the final game Aditi Moondhra who had been a consistent goalscorer for BIS bagged a brace with some clinical finishing in this match as well She was ably supported by her strike partner Mihika Iyer who netted in the second half to ensure her team returned back home with a medal in their hands BIS in fact were actively involved and cheering for AVM Juhu with their lsquoAVM AVMhellipJuhu Juhu Juhursquo chants from the sidelines in the final in order to avenge their own defeat to DAIS in the semifinalGuest of honour Dhanraj Pillay 2nd from right during the toss ahead of the final between AVM Juhu and Dhirubhai Ambani InternationalSurprises in the group stagePerhaps the biggest surprise from the group stage matches was the early exit of defending champions Mary Immaculate Girls MIG from Borivli They lost their three Group A matches and managed to score only twice in these gamesAVM Bandra East closely missed out on a semifinal spot as they trailed Group A runnersup Apostolic Carmel by two points at the end of three matches In Group B Bombay Scottish and AVM BandraWest failed to take three points from any of their games and retuned back with only a solitary draw to their name eachMumbai Schools Sports Association president Fr Jude Rodrigues gives a pep talk to AVM Bandra West team before their match v AVM JuhuJoyous Juhu sideAVM Juhu bagged all the individual awards as Vyas and Patni were adjudged as the Best Forward and Best Goalkeeper respectively Additionally Kavya Aher was declared to be Best Defender Patni barely managed to pip DAISrsquo Agarwal for the honour thanks to her heroics in the penalty shootout in the final As for Vyas her six goals in five games coupled with the innate composure she showed in taking the decisive spotkick in the final shootout led her to being the unanimous choice for the Best Forward awardmiddayrsquos Ranis of Rink silvermedallists Dhirubhai Ambani International who lost in the final to AVM Juhu on FridayGirls have more interest in football than boys Ghoshmiddayrsquos Ranis of Rink 2022 which was the second edition of Mumbairsquos first U16 girls interschool football competition was a starstudded affair The tournament held at the Arena 31 Turf Neville DrsquoSouza ground in Bandra on Friday was graced by the presence of former Indian hockey captain Dhanraj Pillay Dronacharya Lifetime Achievement awardee Bimal Ghosh who will receive the award at a formal function at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on November 30 and Bollywood actor Siddhant Chaturvedi The chief guests heaped immense praise on the passion on display from the budding footballers from eight city schools Ghosh a veteran coach who is deeply connected with the footballing landscape of Mumbai even placed the current state of womenrsquos football in India above to that of the menrsquos gameBronze medalwinning Bombay International School players with guest of honours Dhanraj Pillay 4th from left and actor Siddhant Chaturvedi 4th from right Bimal Ghosh and Bollywood producer and founder of All Stars Football Club Bunty Walia extreme rightLoads of potentialldquoGirls have more interest in football than boys I have seen a lot of enthusiasm in them I never expected like that They are very much encouraged Everything I find in girls football is better than menrsquos football right nowrdquo Ghosh said on the sidelines of the tournament He added ldquoTheir attitude is very positive They are very passionate I have been watching them for the last two years The boys donrsquot have so much enthusiasm like the girlsrdquoHockey great Dhanraj Pillay gets nostalgic with middayrsquos Group Sports Editor Clayton Murzello at the Neville DrsquoSouza Turf in BandraGhosh however acknowledged that the grassroots football development should begin at an even younger age in India He explained that certain important attributes can be spotted and worked upon from the U16 level itself ldquoI see their individual qualities One player is very good in shooting another is very good in heading We have to develop that and then players will move up to a big levelrdquo the exMumbai Tigers coach quippedAlso readTrish strikes as St Josephrsquos beat NSS Hill SpringDhanraj hails maturitySimilarly Pillay seemed impressed with the maturity which these girls displayed The hockey veteran called upon all the participants and their parents to continue their association with the sportBollywood actor Siddhant Chaturvedi who played the role of a rapper MC Sher in the film Gully Boy raps with Radhika Vyas after AVM Juhu emerged middayrsquos Ranis of Rink champions on FridayldquoAround three to four of these girls are very good They understand football The way they carry the ball the way they are looking up whom to pass tohellipand all I request all the children and parents that they should continue playing and one day they can play for our country or their states as wellrdquo the 54yearold remarkedSiddhantrsquos love for footballChaturvedi spoke about his love for football The Gully Boy star expressed hope that his presence would motivate the girls to perform better and asked for more such competitions to be organised across different agegroupsBombay Internationalrsquos Reinaa Mehta second from left celebrates after scoring against defending champions Mary Immaculate Girls MIG during a group stage match of middayrsquos Ranis of Rink U16 interschool football tournament at the Neville DrsquoSouza Turf in Bandra on FridayldquoI have grown up in Mumbai I used to play for my college and my building I canrsquot describe what football means to me Itrsquos a game that I love honestly Itrsquos a good workout a good team exercise It also teaches you a lot of things about life You have got to love itrdquo Chaturvedi saidldquoIt is Ranis of Rink 2022 very encouraging We should have more of these competitions There are some really good players and we need to see them not only on Indian but on the international stage too I am all for rooting for themrdquo he added The tournament was also graced by Mumbai Schools Sports Association MSSA president Fr Jude RodriguesPhysio Kimberley Coutinho treats a Dhirubhai Ambani playerTop achieversArya Vidya Mandir AVM Juhu emerged victorious in the eightteam tournament by defeating Dhirubhai AmbaniInternational School DAIS through a penalty shootout in the final Three of AVM Juhursquos playersmdashRadhika Vyas Kavya Aher and Anoushka Patni were adjudged with the Best Forward Best Defender and Best Goalkeeper respectivelyHockey great Dhanraj Pillay turns lensman as he shoots pictures of middayrsquos principal photographer Atul Kamble on FridayResults in briefLeague matchesgtgt AVM Juhu 4 bt Dhirubhai Ambani International School 2gtgt Bombay Scottish 1 drew with AVM Bandra West 1gtgt AVM Bandra East 2 bt MIG Borivali 0gtgt Bombay International 5 bt Apostolic Carmel 0gtgt AVM Juhu 4 bt Bombay Scottish 1gtgt Dhirubhai Ambani Inernational School 2 bt AVM Bandra West 1gtgt AVM Bandra East 2 drew with Bombay International 2gtgt Apostolic Carmel 2 bt MIG Borivali 1gtgt Dhirubhai Ambani 2 bt Bombay Scottish 1gtgt AVM Juhu 2 bt AVM Bandra West 1gtgt Bombay International 2 bt MIG Borivali 1gtgt Apostolic Carmel 2 bt AVM Bandra East 0Semifinal 1 Dhirubhai Ambani International School 3 bt Bombay International 2 via tiebreakerSemifinal 2 AVM Juhu 3 bt Apostolic Carmel 2 via tiebreakerBronze Medal Match Bombay International 3 bt Apostolic Carmel 0Final AVM Juhu 2 bt Dhirubhai Ambani International School