Charming Chandor bag football title MUSCAT � A nail-biting final carved out an exciting climax as Chandor, spurred by the brilliance of their mid-fielder Lino and gritty striker Saby Fernandes, clinched the pennant of the second All-India Open Eight-a-Side Football Tournament at the Oman Club ground in Al Khuwair on Friday.
In the finale of the one-day soccer extravaganza, Chandor defeated OIG 2-0 to lift the coveted trophy. The tournament organised by the Indian Social Club's Kerala Wing as part of the ongoing Youth Festival � a prelude to the forthcoming Keralotsavam 2005 � turned out to be a tremendous success. Buoyed by the success and the encouraging words of chief guest Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Hassan Al Yahmadi, director of private sports at the Ministry of Sports Affairs, the management committee of the Kerala Wing has already started chalking out plans for a much bigger event next year. Support for this annual and prestigious event of the ISC Kerala Wing has been growing and the turnout for the tournament this year provided an ample proof. Earlier in the morning, Indian Social Club sports secretary Imtiaz Usman ceremonially kicked off the tournament after an elegant parade of the participating teams. He also handed a word of advice to the participants and requested them to play the game in true sportsman spirit. In comparison to the last year's participation of thirteen teams, this time seventeen teams took to the field. The most encouraging sign was the participation of the school teams, who braved the odds of playing against senior teams. It was a valuable experience for the teams from Indian School Muscat and Indian School Darsait. In the final, the Goan outfit Chandor, who had lost to Saligao in the inaugural edition of the tournament last year, was up against a more determined OIG team this time. Spurred by a large and vociferous gathering at the ground, Chandor struck once in each half through Saby Fernandes to thwart the determined challenge put up by OIG. It was the deadly combination of Lino and Saby that caused major worries for the OIG defence. In the semifinals, Chandor had defeated United Goans 3-0, while OIG had got the better off Coutrim 3-2 via sudden death in a hair- raising match. The quarterfinals too were as exciting as most of the matches witnessed on the day. The first heartbreak of the tournament came when, pre-tournament favourites Navelim were edged out 2-3 by United Goans via penalty shootout. Chandor's aggressive run in the tournament saw ISC Kerala Wing `A' crashing out in the quarterfinals, with the former winning 2-0. Another upset victim was last year's champions Saligao, who were edged out 2-0 by OIG, again a match decided on shootout. The last quarterfinal saw Coutrim sneaking past Ave Maria 3-2 via sudden death. Later at a glittering prize distribution ceremony Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Hassan Al Yahmadi gave away the cups, trophies and medals to the winners, runners-up, best disciplined team, best player, best goalkeeper and top scorer, while ISC sports secretary Imtiaz Usman gave away mementos to match officials David Sathya Kumar, Akbar Hussain, Edwin Baretto, Saby Fernandes, Gana and Edwin Vegas. The brilliance of Lino (Chandor) caught everyone's eye and the chief guest's suggestion that some of the players (including Lino) should be playing for the clubs in Oman was an unparalleled award for players. And deservingly, Lino was named the best player of the tournament. Desmond Fernandes of Navelim was declared the best goalkeeper, while Oscar of Saligao was the top scorer of the tournament. In fact, Chandor's Saby was on level with Oscar with six goals each, but former lost out as one of his goals was accounted off a tie- break. The fair play award went to Grey Unit of Indian School Darsait and the school players vowed that they would build a stronger team for the next edition of the tournament. Another highlight of the tournament was the running commentary provided by Salih Thacher, who made a debut in football. ISC Kerala Wing convenor Pradeep Menon thanked all the participants, officials and volunteers, without whom the tournament wouldn't have been successful. He also thanked `Barzman' � an Oman drinking water firm, which played its role in quenching the thirst of one and all at the venue. Times of Oman Monday, March 14, 2005
