I also want to play Hockey!!

The second match was between Kanaipur Sriguru Girls High School Rishra and Shanti Sangh Siksha Mandir, Parnashree, Behala. Kanaipur fought on gamely with their depleted side. Kanaipur Sriguru scored through Pinki Barman (5th minute) and Doyel Sikdar (11th minute). The end result was 2-0, making Kanaipur Sriguru Girls the champions for 2011. Pinki Barman for Kanaipur Sriguru High School and Sujata Pramanik for the Shanti Sangh Siksha Mandir were adjudged the best players for their respective sides.

The third match was between Khalsa High School and Kanaipuir Sriguru Boys School. Khalsa went into the lead in the 2nd minute through Taranveer Singh (1-0). Nitish Neopany made it 2-0 in the 5th minute. He struck once again in the 7th minute (3-0). Kanaipur fought back into the game with Moloy Raha scoring in the 9th minute (3-1) and Sambhu Singh in the 12th minute (3-2). However, Khalsa took the match away with Gurpreet Singh and Rahul Singh sounding the board in the 20th minute for a 5-2 win. The Khalsa boys were switching flanks and making back passes and making use of empty spaces in the most modern way. It was a treat to see them play. Nitish Neopany of Khalsa and Upen Pal of Kanaipur Sriguru were adjudged the best players of their team.

The fourth and the last match of the competitive league for boys was the decider, with Brahmananda High School only one point ahead of the Khalsa Boys, who lost it against an unexpected draw with Julien Day School Kalyani. It proved to be a battle of the best teams and showed some real high quality action. Khalsa went into the lead through Gurpreet Singh in the 2nd minute (1-0). Brahmananda equalized through Tarun Mallick (1-1). Khalsa shot into the lead once again the very next minute through Nitish Neopany (2-1). Brahmananda drew parity through Rajesh Mallick in the 17th minute (2-2). They surged into the lead when Subhankar Bag scored in the 18th minute (3-2), which remained the final score till the long whistle. The match thrilled one and all who saw it. Brahmananda were champions beating the Khalsa who are a big name in the Kolkata Hockey scene for over half a century. Overall it must be said that the Khalsa High School were the most sportsman like team, accepting every decision of the umpire and most graciously accepting the unexpected second position. The other schools need to learn this aspect of the game from them.

Counter attack by Brahmananda boys

Thereafter came the quiz contest in which the Shanti Sangha Siksha Mandir swept aside all opposition and finished on top while Brahmananda Boys came a close second. The teams were given the individual trophies; Keshabchandra Brahmananda Rishra the champions and Khalsa High School the runners up for boys and Kanaipur Sriguru High School the champions and Shanti Sangha Siksha Mandir the runners up for girls.

The next three matches played in the second half of the day were all exhibition matches.

The first exhibition match was between Dr Shankar Chatterjee’s outfit Soura Niloy Thunderbirds (Blue) (the older team having practically disintegrated) and Khalsa Boys coached by Mr Inderjit Singh, the granddad Hockey Coach of Kolkata, who has coached Baljit Singh Saini, India’s Olympian. The blue Thunderbirds were no match for the Khalsas, being overshadowed in age, skill and training and were beaten 7-0, though they showed evidence of gradual absorption of basic skills.

The winners of the league- Brahmananda school boys

The second exhibition match was between a scratch team; four girls from Sakher Bazar Behala (training with Dr Shankar Chatterjee) and two girls from Rishra and the Childrens’ Welfare Home girls’ team trained by Mrs Paramjit Kaur Bhattacharya, former Bengal Player. The match was fought on an even keel and the Childrens’ Welfare Home won through a slender margin(1-0).

The seventh match was between Soura Niloy Thunderbirds (Yellow) and the Khalsa Boys. Thunderbirds yellow proved to a stronger side than their counterparts in Blue and definitely more mobile, though they lost (4-0), age and experience again telling in favour of the Khalsa Boys.

Final standings(Boys):
P W L D Pts
K C Brahmananda 4 4 0 0 8
Khalsa High School 4 2 1 1 5
JDS Ganganagar 4 2 2 0 4
Kanaipur Sriguru (B) 4 1 3 0 2
JDS Kalyani 4 0 3 1 1

Girls League:

P W L D Pts
Kanaipur SriGuru 2 2 0 0 4
Shanti Sangha S. S. 2 0 2 0 0