Winners in snooker and squash topped by the trophy of the overall champions — it was a memorable BRC Wesco Inter Club Sports Carnival 2017 partnered by The Telegraph for The Bengal Rowing Club (BRC). Held at the lakeside club’s premises mid-December, the carnival saw a dozen city clubs come together for a week of competition and camaraderie.
“With each passing year, the clubs are showing greater zeal in terms of participation. We introduced poker for the first time and it created a lot of buzz. On the whole, all clubs fought hard to win their trophies,” said BRC president B.K. Saria.
Saurabh Bangur (in red circle), chairman, sports committee, found the engagement to be “wonderful”. “Overall, the participation level has been extraordinary and the level of competition was healthy and fantastic,” he said.
The Calcutta Swimming Club (CSC) were the badminton winners. “I think it’s been a great effort from the entire team and everyone played their matches well. We have some sporting rivalry with The Saturday Club and it always feels nice to defeat them in the finals!” laughed Rajat Mintri (extreme left) of CSC.
Futsal was won by Dalhousie Institute (DI). “Each and every player gave their best and the finals were nerve-wracking but yes, our good teamwork and cooperation helped us win the trophy,” said captain Javed Ansar (extreme right). Lt Gen. Sunil Srivastava (second from left), Chief of Staff, Eastern Command, Fort William, gave away the award.
The Saturday Club were the pool winners, “the first time in many years”. “The final game was really close as Dalhousie Institute put up a really strong fight. Consistent efforts from all the players and good teamwork saw us through,” said captain Siddharth Cashyap (extreme right).
Exhibition event Indoor Rowing also made its debut at the carnival. “To keep the competition fair, only non-rowing members took part and did well, with good timings,” said Mayank Gupta (extreme left) of BRC.
DI won the inaugural poker competition. For Mohit Bharany (extreme left) of DI, poker is as much a sport as any other. “Like all sports, it needs a good amount of practice. Maybe you can get lucky on one day but you always need to practise and learn the skills and techniques,” he smiled.
BRC won in chess. “This year we decided to introduce chess as an exhibition sport and participating teams did not receive carnival points but rankings. It feels good to win it and hopefully from next time it’ll be a carnival sport as the response from all the clubs has been amazing,” said Anshuman Nopany (extreme left) of BRC.
Calcutta South Club bagged cricket laurels. Skipper Raghu Damani (in orange), was “proud” of his team. “The dedication they showed was amazing.
Cricket at the BRC carnival has always been electrifying... on the whole, it was an amazing week of sporting activities and the spirit shown by every club made it worthwhile,” he said.
Calcutta International Club were the darts winners. “BRC has some of the best players who have played at the international level and it’s always assumed that they’ll manage to get the trophy. My team members put up an excellent fight. It’s fantastic to break a jinx and win after a tough fight,” said captain Jolly Chanda (centre).
BRC won squash “two years in a row”. “A few of our players were unwell and injured but they refused to let that come in the way of a win,” said captain Anand Daga (extreme left).
BRC also bagged the snooker title.
“The team has done exceptionally well. This is the third time in a row. Regular practice and sincere preparation kept us going... snooker is pretty much in our blood and we inspire each other,” said Shreevardhan Poddar (fourth from left) of BRC.
CSC were the table tennis winners.
“It’s always lovely to take part in the BRC carnival and it feels even better after winning some events. They put up a good fight but well, we managed to win it!” smiled Rahul Singhi (extreme left) of CSC.
Text: Isha Lahiri
Pictures: Gopal Senapati
Glimpses from the Inter Club Cricket 7’s, in association with The Telegraph, at the Calcutta Swimming Club
“We have had a very good response this year. We had eight clubs participating along with NSCI Mumbai with whom we have a reciprocal arrangement,” said Siddharth Jhunjhunwala, sports chairman, CSC, with Supriya Devgun of NSCI Mumbai by his side. For Supriya, who won the bronze medal at the Women’s Doubles 40+ Category at the Manorama BWF World Senior Badminton Championships, representing India, the tourney was marked by “super energy, super camaraderie and hospitality at its best”.
“It is always good to be here. The players get charged up to play a competitive game of cricket and the hospitality here is superb,” said Abhinav Gupta (left), vice- chairman and Atul Maru, honorary general secretary, NSCI Mumbai.
Calcutta Punjab Club went home with the runner-up trophy. “The format is competitive and demanding. As players, we look forward to playing for this tournament. In a game there is always just one winner. We will look to win next year again,” said Riki Malik, captain, Calcutta Punjab Club (with the trophy).
“This tournament is unconventional for our boys because we do not see cricket being played often in a swimming pool. Next year we will come back stronger,” said Abbas Contractor (extreme left), member, National Sports Club of India (NSCI Mumbai) with Monesh Bhansali (centre) and Sunil Tanwani. NSCI Mumbai were also part of the Inter Club-Inter City Tournament, in association with The Telegraph, a friendly tourney, played on the sidelines of the Inter Club Cricket 7’s at CSC.
The ninth edition of the Inter Club Cricket 7’s, in association with The Telegraph held at The Calcutta Swimming Club (CSC), saw the host club emerge winners. There was both competition and camaraderie between the teams.
Text: Sulogna Ghosh
Pictures: Arnab Mondal
