And it’s a wrap! After the month-long battle with the bowls, the Ecos Royal Bowling League saw a fitting finale on September 27 with dark horse BLC High Rollers taking the crown after beating Royal Super Knights. The league at Royal Calcutta Golf Club’s Maidan Tent saw eight teams battle it out throughout September. In the end, the winner was lawn bowling.
The organising committee of (L-R) Sanjay Lakhotia, Navratan Mohta, Deven Shah, Devendra Saigal, Hitesh Dani and Noshier Framjee after the prize distribution ceremony at the RCGC Maidan Tent on Sunday evening. “The first edition of Ecos RBL was a success! Lawn Bowling has gained popularity, which was the main aim. Now we are looking forward to next year, we will make it bigger and better!” said RBL joint convener Deven Shah.
What’s celebration without champagne? Samit Malhotra of the runner-up team Royal Super Knights pops a bottle of bubbly and sprays it on champs BLC High Rollers. “We didn’t lose a single match throughout the league and as luck would have it, the first match we lost was the final. I guess the law of averages caught up with us,” smiled Samit.
Everybody loves when the underdog wins and that was the case for BLC High Rollers as well. “In the fifth round, we were at the bottom of the table and here we are now, winners! This is an amazing feeling,” beamed Vikash Musaddi (far left in picture top) owner of BLC High Rollers, with his team and the winning trophy and cheque. (Above) The winning moment on the Royal Maidan Tent lawns after the BLC High Rollers bowled out favourites Royal Super Knights.
THINGS I LEARNT FROM THE RBL
First, I learnt about the game. Like many people, I wasn’t quite aware about lawn bowling. I saw the game, watched people play and even tried it out myself. It is a great game where both men and women can participate and people of all ages can play.
The world of sports was new and exciting for me. I took the initiative and chose the name of the team (Bowling Bravehearts), the colour of the jersey.... I used my filmi experience for this (laughs).
I learnt the importance of consistency and performing under pressure. Keeping calm and playing coolly will take you ahead. I think this will definitely help me in the future.
Teamwork is everything. Being a united team means the performance will be better. Similarly, don’t lose hope after losing or fly too high after winning. Keep calm and look at the next match.
I realised that there are a lot of similarities between sports and films. For example, when it rains during shooting, the producer frets, similarly I would be tense when it would rain and the team had a match (laughs).
Finally, I’m really thankful to RCGC for organising this league. When football, cricket and kabaddi are played in the league format, why not lawn bowling? This definitely helped popularise the game and I’m glad I was a part of this.
Text: Deborima Ganguly
Pictures: Sayantan Ghosh