Chandigarh boys emerge champion

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 31 

Chandigarh boys capped off their unbeaten run in the All-India Invitational Handball Tournament with a hard-fought win over Delhi in the final at the Sector 42 Sports Complex here on Monday. 

The hosts rode on Ashish’s 15-goal effort to overcome Delhi 40-39 and claim the title. Bhushan and Ankit added seven goals each to the Chandigarh tally. 

For Delhi, Ramesh Chand scored 13 goals, while Ashok Navi struck nine times.  

The city boys stayed unconquered in the tournament, beating Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab before edging out Rajasthan in the semifinals. 

Rajasthan registered a 32-31 win over Punjab to finish third in the tournament. Sukhveer (14 goals) was the top scorer for Rajasthan, while Inderjeet managed eight goals for Punjab.

UP girls down Punjab 

In the women’s category, Uttar Pradesh humbled Punjab 30-21.

Pavitar maintained her impressive run in the tournament as she scored eight goals for Uttar Pradesh in the final. Anumit added seven goals to their tally. 

For Punjab, Rajwant struck nine times, while Maninder Kaur and Prabjit scored three goals each.

Chandigarh girls after losing to Punjab in the semifinals on Sunday came back strongly to register a 40-37 win over Delhi and bag the third position.  

Khila once agin was the top scorer for the hosts, scoring 14 goals. Kiran pumped in nine goals. Hema (10 goals) was the lead scorer for Delhi. 

The winners in each category received Rs 1.50 lakh, while the runners-up got richer by Rs 75,000. The second runner-up got Rs 50,000.  

Chandigarh Mayor Divesh Moudgil, who was the chief guest at the valedictory function, gave away the prizes.

IOA treasurer and Handball Federation of India secretary general Anandswer Pandey, Sports Director Tejdeep Saini, Joint Director (Sports) Mahender Singh and District Sports Officer Ravinder Singh were also present during the concluding ceremony.