West Zone 2 winners advance to RFYS National Championship

Three cities that sit at close quarters to each other in the West Zone are Goa, Pune and Kolhapur.

Three cities that sit at close quarters to each other in the West Zone are Goa, Pune and Kolhapur. From 5th-7th December, the RFYS City Champions from Kolhapur and Goa travelled to Pune to square up in a three-way battle for a place in the RFYS National Championship. At the end of it all, 4 institutes stood out on top and made their passage to the National Championship with flair.

The School Girls fixture was a perfect start to the West Zone 2 National Qualifiers as Chhatrapati Shahu High School & Jr College secured a 5-0 win over Sinhgad Spring Dale High School at the lush outfield of Pune’s DSK Ground. In the second fixture, the College Boys of Indira College of Commerce and Science scored four and conceded 1 in their win against S.B Khade Mahavidyalaya, who are also the City Champions of Kolhapur. Unlike their School Girls counterparts, the Junior Boys team of Chhatrapati Shahu High School & Jr College slumped to a 3-0 defeat in their first fixture against St. Vincent’s High School. The last fixture of that day was between the Senior Boys of Don Bosco Junior College and Maharashtra High School, which the latter won 1-0.

As the West Zone 2 National Qualifiers ushered into Day 2, some teams found themselves in a do-or-die situation, as a loss for them would squash their chances of qualifying. Our Lady of The Rosary Higher Secondary School handed Chhatrapati Shahu High School and Jr College their first defeat with a score line of 2-1 in their favour. Progress High School started their campaign with a 2-0 win over Chhatrapati Shahu High School & Jr College in the Junior Boys category, and also handed Chhatrapati Shahu High School and Jr College their second defeat in as many days. Maharashtra High School could only net one goal as they tasted defeat for the first time against Rosary HSS, who scored a staggering four goals and with that, opened their campaign with a win. Fr. Agnel College of Arts and Commerce were formidable in front of the goal, as they racked up five goals against S.B Khade Mahavidyalaya, who themselves revealed Fr. Agnel’s defensive incapibility by scoring two goals.

With a place in the National Championship up for grabs, the champions from three cities went all out to make sure their names are on the coveted ticket. The first team through to the National Championship were the School Girls of Our Lady of Rosary HSS, who were dominant throughout their 6-1 win against Sinhgad Spring Dale High School. Pune’s Junior Boys Champions, St. Vincent’s High School and Jr. College left it late to book a spot, as they edged past Progress High School narrowly with a 1-0 win. The Senior Boys of Rosary HSS had their best trick saved for the end as they ran rampant in their 9-1 win over Don Bosco Jr. College. An inspiring performance in the College Boys fixture saw Indira College of Commerce And Science coming back from a goal deficit and eliminating Fr. Agnel College of Arts and Commerce with a full-time score of 2-1. Thus, a three-day extravaganza on the roller-coaster stopped with the following teams qualifying for the National Championship:

Junior Boys – St. Vincent’s High School and Jr College, Pune
School Girls – Our Lady of Rosary HSS, Goa
Senior Boys – Rosary HSS, Goa
College Boys – Indira College of Commerce And Science, Pune