St. Patrick’s, Gumla, Jharkhand crowned 61stSubroto Cup Girls U-17 champions

WINNERS-ST.-PATRICKS-GUMLA-JHARKHAND team with Trophy.

St. Patrick’s, Gumla, Jharkhand – 3 (Anita Dungdung 5’, Alpha Kandulna 69’, 71’)

Wangoi Higher Secondary School, Imphal, Manipur – 1 (TH Remi – 52’)

Rakesh Thapliyal

New Delhi: India is all set to host  FIFA Under 17 Women’s World Cup 2022 next month, this prestigious event has generated great enthusiasm among the school going girls Footballers.This was evident on Wednesday at Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Stadium where hundred’s of boys and girls from different schools and clubs were present to watch two top school teams of the country play in the under-17 age category.

St. Patrick’s, Gumla, Jharkhand won the 61^st Subroto Cup International Football Tournament Girls U-17 title beating Wangoi Higher Secondary School, Imphal, Manipur 3 – 1 in the nailbiting final encounter. Both the teams were locked at 1-1 during the regulation time but in the extra time Alpha Kandulna scored two goals to seal the victory for St. Patrick’s, Gumla.

The winners received their trophies from Chief Guest Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, PVSM AVSM VM ADC, Vice Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force. Sakshi Malik, Olympic bronze and Commonwealth Goldmedallist was present as Guest of Honour during the match, providing encouragement to the young girls.

Both teams played some entertaining football with the crowd behind them. St. Patrick’s, Jharkhand took the lead early in the 5^th minute through Anita Dungdung who finished brilliantly in the top corner. Wangoi Higher Secondary School equalized in the second half through TH Remi in the 52^nd minute. The match was stretched to extra time where the Jharkhand school found the extra leg to find the net twice. Both goals were scored by Alpha Kandulna in the 69^th and 71^st minutes.

Finalist with Wrestler Sakshi Malik

Speaking on the occasion, Air Marshal Sandeep Singh,PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC, Vice Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force said, “Subroto Cup is a great platform for school children to showcase their skills in a national level. It can be considered as the first step for their career as all of the girls playing here will be noticed by footballing institutions and organisations for them to take the next step in their journey. I congratulate not only the winners today, but also all the teams and their coaches and support staff for the admirable effort you have put in to reach this far. I wish you all the best for the future and am confident that the Subroto Cup experience will enthuse you to reach even greater heights going forward.”

Sakshi Malik provided encouragement to the budding footballers saying, “Subroto Cup is an excellent opportunity for young girls to be noticed in a national level. It is great that the Indian Air Force is conducting such a grassroots tournament and I hope that more tournaments of this sort are conducted that will provide more opportunities and bring young and talented girls to the forefront. I wish all the teams that participated in the tournament especially the teams that played the finals here.”

The 61^stSubroto Cup now moves on to the Boys U-17 tournament which begins on October 3^rdwith the final scheduled for October 13^th.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

BEST PLAYER                        – M. Nandeshwori Devi, Wangoi HSS

BEST GOALKEEPER              – Jyotsna Bara, St. Patrick’s

BEST COACH                         – N. Ronibala Devi, Wangoi HSS

BEST SCHOOL                       – St. Patrick’s, Jharkhand

FAIR PLAY TROPHY              – Riverside National School, Madhya Pradesh

RUNNERS-UP-WANGOI-HSS-IMPHAL-MANIPUR.