CHENNAI: RYA Main bagged the RYA Metro Star inter-club football tournament title after defeating AFC Galaxy 2-0 in the summit match at Whistle Urban Sports Hub, Nungambakkam on Sunday.
RYA Main players got richer by Rs 20,000 while AFC Galaxy had to settle for 15,000. AFC Galaxy’s Pawan Jhabakh and Mohit Bohra won the Golden Boot award with four goals apiece.
The day-long 6-a-side tournament, funded by DRA homes, witnessed eight teams (80 players) in action. “The approximate budget for the tournament was `6 lakh for this edition,” said Devang Chordia, Rajasthan Youth Association Metro Star president.
With the brimming enthusiasm of the spectators and players, the venue looked like it wore a festive mode. Playing in a futsal setup, the participating footballers’ aggression showed how serious they are about the game.
Earlier in a qualifier match, RYA had defeated RYA Cosmoelite 3-0. All the three goals came in the second half of the match. The stubborn Cosmoelite’s defence kept the RYA attackers at bay.
But just two minutes into the second half, Vinay broke the deadlock with a tap-in and helped RYA gain advantage. Buoyed after the goal, the RYA players frustrated their opponents with some possession-based play. They doubled their advantage through Janak. Soon after, Vinay sealed the match for RYA with a headed goal and did a Ronaldo-style celebration.
A total of 19 matches — 16 qualifiers, two semifinals and a final — were played in this third edition of the tournament.
The inaugural edition was held in 2016 was conducted at the same venue while the second edition was conducted at Don Bosco School last year.
Results: RYA Main 2-0 AFC Galaxy. Qualifier: RYA Main 3-0 RYA Cosmoelite. Golden boot: Pawan Jhabakh & Mohit Bohra (four goals each).
Saravana downs Mithilesh
CHENNAI: M P Saravana Krishnan played an elegant game in Queen’s Pawn Opening to tame his opponent Mithilesh Krishnan in 42 moves in the third round of the 18th Adyar Times FIDE rated Open chess tournament, organised by Tamil Nadu Chess Association. On the adjacent board, RA Pradeep Kumar beat M Abhinav Karthik.
Results (Round 3): Saravana Krishnan P bt Mithilesh Krishnan, Abhinav Karthik lost to Pradeep Kumar, Hari Madhavan bt Suganthan R, Pranav V lost to Srihari LR, Vinoth Kumar M bt Murali Krishna, Kishore V lost to Ram S Krishnan, Sai Kiran lost to P Mythireyan, K Gokulraj bt Balu Karthick, Narayanan GK lost to Yuvan Bharathi KS, Vinay R Jumani bt Goutham D.
Velammal win
Velammal CA ‘A’ defeated Kedar CA by nine runs in the Velammal Cricket School ‘Believe Yourself’ U-14 inter academy cricket meet.
Brief scores: Velammal CA ‘A’ 144 in 23.5 ovs (K Saihariram 28, S Sriram 3/24) bt Kedar CA 135/9 in 30 ovs (Rushil Kumar 28).