A member of Akhand Jyoti XI from Saran (in blue) tries a header in a match against Patna XI on Friday. The Saran team defeated the girls from Patna 4-1 after a tie-breaker. The women’s football match was organised by Randhir Verma Foundation at the Patna High School ground. At the end of 90 minutes, the scoreboard read 1-1. In the tie-breaker, Akhand Jyoti restricted Patna XI from scoring and netted three goals. Puja Kumari, Gunja Kumari and Suman Singh were the scorers. The spectators enjoyed the match to the end, as the city rarely hosts a women’s football match. The chief guest at the event was BJP MLC Giriraj Singh. He said: “Sports tournaments for women encourage them to come forward.” He also highlighted the contribution of Randhir Verma. An IPS officer, Verma died while resisting a bank dacoity in Dhanbad. Text by Roshan Kumar, picture by Ashok Sinha