Nagaon, Feb. 20: Nagaon retained the XVIII inter-district (under-19) hockey title, defeating Tangla by a solitary goal in the final of the meet organised under the aegis of the Assam Hockey Association and the South Kampur Sports Association at Ghilani ground in Kampur.
In a nail-biting finish, Dipak Medhi found the net for the matchwinning goal for defending champions Nagaon in the last minute of the keenly-contested match, cheered on by a mammoth crowd this afternoon.
Nagaon, who beat Karbi Anglong for the title last year, entered the final blanking out Silchar 1-0 in the semi-finals played in the morning session. In the other semi-final, Tangla got the better of Tinsukia (6-3).
Yesterday Nagaon set up a semi-final clash with Silchar by defeating Sivasagar 6-0 in their last league match, while Silchar edged past Moran 2-1. Earlier in the day, Moran defeated Guwahati 3-1.
Tinsukia yesterday beat Morigaon (2-1) and later breezed past Sadiya 4-2, while Tangla beat Naharkatia 3-2.
The prizes were conferred by Nagaon additional deputy commissioner Kanak Kachari.
The tournament was inaugurated on Tuesday by Indian Hockey Federation president K.P.S. Gill and former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.
Gill also visited the Nurul Amin stadium and other sites in Nagaon and was impressed by the ready infrastructure for hosting different sports meets. Gill, who was accompanied by officials Subhash Basumatary and Rajib Prakash Baruah of the Sports Authority of India N-E sub-centre, Guwahati, said in view of the 2005 National Games, he was preparing a model for setting up two astroturf grounds at Nagaon. Earlier, there had been proposals to lay only one astroturf.
Gill was felicitated by the Nagaon District Sports Association. During the brief function arranged in his honour, Gill said he would plead with the Indian Olympic Association that apart from hockey, disciplines like football and indoor games during the 2005 Games should also be held in Nagaon.
The IHF president also recalled the contributions of eminent sportspersons and sports organisers of Assam, including Nurul Amin, Swadhin Dekaraja and Padmeswar Deka.
Bike race
The Assam Riders’ Association will organise the Yamaha Motor Cross championship (motorbike race) at the Assam State Textbook Production and Publication Corporation ground in Guwahati on February 23.
Riders from all over the Northeast will be eligible for participation in the championship. Interested riders have been asked to contact the ARA office at Panbazar.
Sepak takraw
The Assam Sepak Takraw Association has announced a 17-member team, including seven women, to represent Assam in the XIII Senior National Sepak Takraw championship, to be held at Hyderabad from February 25 to 28.
The team, which will leave on Friday, will have Joy Kumar Singh as the manager and Joymati Singh as coach, said association secretary Bishnuram Nunisa.
The team:
(Men) Rajkumar Singh, Nilkumar Singh, Nicholas Singh, Kailash Singh, Kishan Singh, Tridip Singh, Manitan Singh, Manimohan Singh, Putu B. Singh and Amit Kumar Singh. (Women) Lakhimati Singh, Babita Sarma, Shyamlata Devi, Bharati Devi, Lipika Singh, Ranjita Singh and Ranjita Devi.
