It may seem like a long fairy tale with a happy ending, but this is just the beginning of it all. The girls from St. Marys Convent, Mulund have made it big in the sports sector by grabbing the winners trophy in the U-16 category of the MSSA Handball Tournament held on the 6th and 9th of January at the Mumbai School Sports Association Sports complex, CST. It was a dream come true for all the players as they have been looking for a major victory from the past three years. Coaches Rohit D and Rakesh P were proud of their girls and glad that they lifted the cup this time around. Coach Rohit D said “The girls gave it their all to win this one and I’m happy that the girls are champions today. This is a good start into the new year.”
It was a tough road to cover for St Marys as they faced JB Vacha High School, Dadar in a tight encounter but emerged winners with a score of 3-2. The next team they overcame was Dr. Radhakrishnan High School with a scoreline of 3-0, moving on to the next phase. In the Semi final, St Mary’s faced Pawar Public School (Bhandup) whom they breezed passed with an emphatic score of 7-1. In the grand finale, they comprehensively beat Garodia High School by a huge margin of 7 points as the scoreboard showed 10-3 in their favor. They went on to lift their first ever handball title for the U-16 category in style.
Riya Shirodkar, one of the players said “The girls started playing handball as a sport only three years ago when it was introduced in the school summer camp. Even as amateurs, they participated in many tournaments but victory did not come their way until this year when they won the tournament. The students have brought glory to their school by bringing home the title of the Champions of MSSA Handball 2015”
The Principal of St. Marys, Sr. Smita was more than happy with the result and said that the hard work and achievement of the girls was commendable and she can expect more such results in the future.
Mumbai Strikers SC founder and coach Rohit D’souza along with coach Rakesh Patne who belongs to the same club, introduced the sport of Handball in St. Marys Convent way back in 2012. Along with handball, they have been conducting Basketball and Rugby training as well in the school. The girls have developed and have provided improvised results since the time they have started handball in the convent. In spite of the disappointment they have faced in many tournaments over the years, the girls have shown strong determination and have followed a strict regime under the coaches to achieve this top accolade. Rohit D’souza also added that the journey from being amateurs to the champs of handball has been ecstatic and the girls have worked their way up giving blood and sweat to the game.
Congratulations to the girls from St. Marys and we hope there is a lot more to come from them in the years to come.