Isha, Jordan strike just in time to clinch U-16 hockey titles

The victorious Carmel of St Joseph’s girls under-16 hockey teams are all smiles with their trophies at the MHAL Stadium in Churchgate recently. Pics/Sameer Markande

Opportunistic forward Isha Patel, 14, and enterprising midfielder Jordan Desmond, 14, scored decisive winning goals as Carmel of St Joseph's (Malad) and St Stanislaus HS (Bandra) recorded identical 1-0 victories to clinch the girls' and boys' U-16 hockey titles respectively in the Mumbai Schools Sports Association-organised Olympic Day celebrations at the MHAL Stadium, Churchgate, recently.

Carmel of St Joseph's beat Duruelo Convent HS (Bandra) 1-0. Isha scored the winner in the second half. She trapped Taleesa Vaz's pass and cleverly pushed the ball past the Duruelo goalkeeper to help her team emerge champions.

St Stanislaus boys under-16 hockey teams are all smiles with their trophies at the MHAL Stadium in Churchgate recently

"We played well as a team but I'm a little disappointed because I felt I should've scored more than one goal. I missed at least three clear scoring opportunities," Isha told mid-day after the win.

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In the boys' U-16 final, St Stanislaus scored at the death off a penalty corner to get the better of arch-rivals Don Bosco (Matunga) 1-0. The Bandra boys were awarded a penalty corner seconds before the hooter and Jordan showed great composure as he coolly dodged past the first rusher and then unleashed a firm drive past the second rusher. The ball struck the pads of goalkeeper Arul Talwar and flew into the cage. "We were all nervous, wondering if we could score off that last PC. Somehow, I managed to beat one defender and got my shot through. We will now start our preparations for the DSO tournament which will be played next month," said Jordan said.

Isha Patel and Jordan Desmond

Earlier, in the girls U-14 final, Advita Kamble scored twice while Riva Ghale added the third as SBOA (Vashi) beat Carmel of St Joseph's 3-0 for the title. In the U-14 boys' final, Don Bosco (Matunga) beat St Stanislaus 1-0 with Joel Anamdappa scoring the winner.

A total of 36 teams (648 players) across four age groups participated in MSSA's two-day celebrations to mark Olympic Day (June 23) to celebrate the founding of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on this day in 1894.