Vidhyashilp Academy, winners of the inter-school U-17 hockey tournament for the Centenary Shield. STANDING (from left): Kavan, Ekansh, Ashok, Pranith, Sohan, Gaurish and Samarth. KNEELING: Naman Nair, Danesh, Nived Nair, Nirmal Sai, Ishanth, Sameer, Ridhan, Chayan.
Credit: DH photo
Bengaluru: Vidyashilp Academy had a memorable outing at the prestigious SJBHS inter-school hockey tournament as the school bagged both the U-17 and U-14 titles at the Hockey Stadium here on Thursday.
After winning the U-14 Fr Eric Vaz Memorial final against hosts St Joseph's Boys' High School 1-0, the Vidyashilp U-17 side rallied from 0-2 down to win 3-2 against Chinmaya Vidyalaya in an enthralling final of the Centenary Shield.
In a tale of two halves, Sohan Kadli (40') completed the comeback from a well-executed dragflick. It took them just 12 minutes to score three goals, all from penalty corners, in the second half.
Praniith Gadia (28') opened the floodgates with a powerful tomahawk from the second battery as four consecutive PCs took their toll on Chinmaya's defence, which looked too efficient until this point.
Vidyashilp's attack turned relentless following the first goal and converted their next PC through Aarav Ashoke from the second battery at the 35th minute. What stood out in all three goals was the injection provided capably by Samarth.
The first half, however, was all Chinmaya show, highlighted by Hemanth's sole field goal of the day.
The youngster executed a tomahawk to perfection following a circle entry from the right at the 17th minute. The momentum of Chinmaya's game was built through MD Ghouse's dragflick at the third minute as Vidyashilp had early jitters.
Meanwhile, in the U-14 final earlier, Arrush Malik scored the sole goal at the 11th minute as his dragflick was deflected into the goal by a St Joseph's rusher.
Results: Final: Fr Eric Vaz Memorial Tournament (U-14): Final: Vidyashilp Academy: 1 (Arrush Malik, 11th) bt St Joseph's Boys High School: 0
Player of the tournament: Manish (Frank Anthony Public School); Best forward: Adrian Nitin Manuel (St. Joseph's Boys High School); Best midfielder: Mohammed K (Chinmaya Vidyalaya; Best defender: Siddarth BS (Vidyashilp Academy); Best goalkeeper: Khalifa Mohammed (Vidyashilp Academy).
Centenary Shield Tournament (U-17): Vidyashilp Academy: 3 (Praniith Gadia, 28th; Aarav Ashoke, 35th; Sohan Kadli, 40th) bt Chinmaya Vidyalaya (MD Ghouse, 3rd; Hemanth, 17th)
Player of the tournament: Hemanth (Chinmaya Vidyalaya); Best forward: Joel Paul (St. Joseph's Boys High School); Best midfielder: Adhavan (St. Joseph's Boys High School); Best defender: Pranith Gadia (Vidyashilp Academy); Best goalkeeper: Amogh R (Chinmaya Vidyalaya)