Girls from Somalwar High School, Nikhalas, and Centre Point School, Wardhaman Nagar, boys reigned supreme in the Inter-School Basketball Free Throw Competition held at the Dharampeth Krida Mandal (DKM) courts in Shankar Nagar on Wednesday.
Around 200 students from 24 schools showcased their shooting skills in a unique competition organized to celebrate National Sports Day by the Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) in association with Dharampeth Krida Mandal.
The low-scoring girls final saw the five-member team from Somalwar School get the better of RS Mundle English Medium School 3-2. Members of the winning team include Tejashree Ingole, Sanjana Chopkar, Madhura Sonegaokar, Parnavee Pathak and Aditi Saptarshy.
In contrast the boys’ summit clash was a high scoring affair. CPS Wardhaman Nagar defeated their Katol Road counterparts 7-5. Those who represented the winning team include Mohit Humne, Vishal Gurnani, Sarthak Gubrani, Sudeep Ghoshal and Sahil Bhure.
It is worth to mention here that the runner-up teams in both the boys and girls category were unbeaten till the finals and suffered their first defeat in the summit clash.
Other teams who made it to the semifinals include St Xavier's and School of Scholars boys, and CPS Katol Road and Saraswati Vidyalaya girls.
In the event for journalists, Amit Sampat of The Times of India captured the crown while Paritosh Pramanik of The Hitavada finished runner-up. The Hitavada sports scribes Sarang Kunte and Abhimanyu Garud had to satisfy with the third and fourth place finish.
Around 70 matches were played in the league-cum-knockout event.
Later the concluding ceremony was graced by owner of Star Motors Shabbir Vali while Mohan Sathe shared the dais as a special guest. SJAN president Naresh Shelke conducted the proceedings while treasurer Anupam Soni proposed the vote of thanks.
Those who handled the technical aspect of the competition under the guidance of NDBA officials include some senior national-level players. The girls event was managed by Disha Wadpalliwar, Sayali Gadkari, Karishma Manekar, Akansha Deshpande and Maithili Pantawane while the boys competition was successfully managed by Rohit Pisipati, Raunak Sukhdeve, Vinesh Rao and Rajat Pawar.
Those who worked hard for the successful conduct of the event include Samir Shrivastava, Anup Rajurkar, Ashish Guru and Manoj Rakshak.
Results
Girls (finals): Somalwar Nikalas bt RS Mundle English Medium School 3-2;
Semifinals: Somalwar Nikhalas bt CPS Katol Road 6-5 in the tie-breaker; RS Mundle bt Saraswati Vidyalaya 6-2.
Boys (finals): CPS Wardhaman Nagar bt CPS Katol Road 7-5;
Semifinals: CPS Wardhaman Nagar bt School of Scholars 4-3; CPS Katol Road bt St Xaviers High School 7-5 in the tie-breaker.
