Living Gym lift FootGal 2018 title
Source: The Sangai Express / DIO

CCpur, October 20 2018: Lenlai Club went down fighting The Living Gym 1-11 in the final showdown of FootGal 2018-5 Girls A-side night Futsal tournament - last evening at Rayburn High premises.

The final day, in the words of Shyam Lal Poonia, DC/CCpur, had a different grandeur with so much fanfare.

Leaving aside the players, even the whole of Churachandpur was bathing in excitement.

Meanwhile, Homes FA edged past Hoihte FC 2-0 on penalties in the third place playoff prior to the grand finale.

In the evenly contested match, both sides made an impressive start right from the first whistle.

Although the two teams scurried to find a lead, their efforts could not pay any dividends till the fag end of the first session.

It was Kimngaimawi of Homes FA who put her team in the driver's seat when she was bang on target right at the stroke of half time.

Undaunted, Hoihte FC gathered their nerves and bounced back with full vigour in the second session.

Their efforts yielded when Niangsangi sprang a surprise as her powerful shot from mid-way hit the back of their rivals' net to cancel HFA's lead and drew level.

With some fine passes and running down the flanks, both sides were engaged testing their opponents' custodians.

However, none could succeed in making any further breakthrough.

As such, penalty came into play to decide the winners.

While all penalty kicks of Hoihte FC players were saved by Homes FA custodian, their rival players converted all the shots.

Homes FA prodigy Ruby was declared Player of the Match.

The final match between two favourites of the town, Lenlai Club and The Living Gym saw enthusiastic crowds swarming up the premises with V Hangkhanlian, Agriculture Minister as the chief guest.

The anxiousness, the excitement, the zeal, the shine in the eyes of the players, the passion and determination in those bright eyes - everything had a story to narrate.

And the atmosphere was electric although The Living Gym coasted to a comprehensive 11-1 win over Lenlai Club.

Both teams started the game in full-on attack mode.

Yumnam Laxmi Devi opened the floodgate for The Living Gym.

The Living Gym, who had more experienced players exploded, scoring 10 more goals.

Yumnam Laxmi netted three more while Lalvarmawi slotted home three.

Unshaken by the huge goal deficit, Lenlai Club displayed grit and determination, and gave a spirited fight-back.

Although they kept on searching defensive lapses, their hard-works were thwarted.

Meantime, Ningthoujam Borkeina, Moirangthem Bijeta, Rebika Oinam and Ch Binomala contributed one goal each to cap The Living Gym's impressive title win.

After diligent attempts, Lenlai Club found the consolation through their ace striker Kim Kom.

Yumnam Laxmi was adjudged Girl of the Final Match.

The Roll of Honour:
FootGal of the Tournament: Lalvarmawi of The Living Gym
Top Scorer of the Tournament: Ningthoujam Borkeina
Safe Hands of the Tournament: Rosie Niangboi (Siloam Wielding Emerging Young Player of the Tournament: Sarah (Homes FA) )
Best Defender: Chinghoihkim Samte (Lenlai Club) .

Footgal 2018 is the noble initiative of Churachandpur District Administration to celebrate the girl child in furtherance of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Abhiyan and its endeavour to garner support from electors towards accessible and inclusive elections through purification of electoral rolls with the objective 'No Voters to be Left Behind.' A total of 24 teams competed for the title of the tournament.

"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential are the keys to unlock the door to personal excellence," said Shyam Lal Poonia, DC, Churachandpur while addressing the grand closing ceremony of FootGal 2018 .

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