In a unique initiative to harness talent among females, Sports For All celebrated girls’ day that saw as many 15,000 girls from 500 schools competing at the DY Patil Stadium here on Sunday.
Saina Nehwal with boxers
India’s star shuttler and Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal spearheaded the mission by spending the day with the contestants, interacting with them and motivating them to take up sports as a serious hobby and even as a career option.
Saina lauded the efforts of SFA and looked genuinely overwhelmed to see such a large number of girls participating in various sporting categories. She gave an inspirational rendition on the importance of sports to the young champions and also shared important tips, digging out from her own journey.
|
The former World No. 1 made the day of 12 chosen young girls by decorating them as the fittest girl athletes at Sports For All 2016 and giving them special mementoes.
With Saina watching them, the young prodigies in different sporting categories pushed themselves to the limit and made their presence felt on Day 14.
In Under-12 tennis, Eapan Joshua of Avalon Heights International School beat Rahil Joshi of CP Goenka International School (Juhu) 6-1, 6-3 to win the championship. The bronze medal went to Neel Choudhary of Jamnabai Narsee School.
Saina with special Bharat olympians
In boxing, Mitika Gunele of St. Lawrence High School (Kandivali) won the gold medal in the Under-17 63 kgs weight classification, while Prachiti Patil of St. Joseph High School & Junior College (Kalamboli) won the silver. In the 50 kgs category, Nidhi Tiwari of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Hindi Secondary School (Andheri) took the top honours while Khushi Chaudhari ran away with the silver medal in the Thakur Shyamnarayan High School (Kandivali).
In Under-12 girls’ boxing, Priya Yadav of Akurli Road BMC Hindi School No-1 won the gold medal in the 42 kgs weight category. Sana Khan of St. Mathew’s High School & Junior College, Malwani (Malad) won the silver medal while her schoolmate Nidhi Yadav won the bronze.
Saanvi Khot of The Dadar Parsee Youth Assembly High School won the gold medal in the girls’ Under-17 -48 kgs weight category while Siddhi Naik of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Hindi Secondary School (Borivali) won the silver. The bronze went to Saumya Parikh of Dhirubhai Ambani International School and Varsha Patil of St. Catherine of Seina School.
The day also saw young shuttlers in action with the semifinal line-ups for top categories of boys’ and girls’ badminton being finalised.
In the girls’ Under- 17 championship, top seeded Divya Hedge of Lilavatibai Podar High School beat Shreya Raut of Lodha World School Palava (Dombivali) 21-3, 21-3 to seal his spot in the semis. Shruti Patade, seeded first of Peoples Education Society English Medium School, beat fourth seeded Ananya Patil of Don Bosco Senior Secondary School (Nerul) 21-15, 21-9 to move into the semis. Anish Samiaa of Fazlani L’Academie Globale, seeded third eased into the last four with a 21-4,21-8 victory over Riya Salaria of Lodha World School Palava(Dombivali). Anushka Patil of Bal Bharati Public School (Kharghar) beat Varalika Mishra of R.N Podar School (Santacruz) 21-6, 21-7.
In the boys’ Under-17 category, top seeded Aditya Reddy of St. Lawrence High School (Borivali) marched into the semis by beating Rohit Balivada of Kendriya Vidyalaya (Ambernath) 24-22, 21-14. Rahul Badgujar of North Point School (Koparkhairne) beat Bhavya Kamdar of Lilavatibai Podar High School 21-16, 5-21,26-24. Achintya Agarwal of Ryan International School (Sanpada) beat Akash Karayil North Point School (Koparkhairne) 21-5, 21-15 while Yash Pawar of Hiranandani Foundation School (Powai) beat Shrikant Rai 21-10, 21-16 to qualify for the semis.