Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Emerald Heights International School capped a dominant home campaign by defeating Yadavindra Public School, Mohali, 64-50 to win the All India IPSC Under-17 Girls Basketball Tournament.
The final remained fiercely contested for three quarters, with the teams locked at 45-45 after the third quarter.
The duel between Emerald Heights’ Pawan Dubey and YPS star Avantika Singh lit up the contest, with both producing a series of three-pointers and keeping the spectators on edge.
Late timeout changes everything
With two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Emerald Heights bench called a timeout and altered its strategy.
The move paid off immediately.
Pawan drilled two three-pointers, while Prachi Goyal added another from beyond the arc as the hosts broke open the contest and surged towards the title.
Pawan finished with a match-high 31 points, while Roli Pandya scored 15 and Prachi 12. Rishita and Navya contributed three points each.
For Yadavindra Public School, Avantika led the fight with 29 points, Jasmeet Kaur scored 11 and Mehreen added 10.
Pawan takes top honour
Pawan’s match-winning display also earned her the Best Player of the Tournament award.
Navya Mor of Emerald Heights was named Best Rebounder, Roli Pandya received the Best Match Control Player award and Prachi Goyal was honoured as the Upcoming Player.
YPS players also featured prominently in the individual honours, with Avantika named Best Scorer and Jasmeet Kaur Best Defender.
School director Harshita Singh presented the awards in the presence of basketball technical officer Durgesh Saxena and school sports officer Akram Khan. She also congratulated the victorious team and its coaching staff.
BRIEF SCORE
Final: Emerald Heights International School 64 beat Yadavindra Public School, Mohali 50
Emerald Heights: Pawan Dubey 31, Roli Pandya 15, Prachi Goyal 12
YPS Mohali: Avantika Singh 29, Jasmeet Kaur 11, Mehreen 10
AWARDS
Player of Tournament: Pawan Dubey
Best Scorer: Avantika Singh
Best Defender: Jasmeet Kaur
Best Rebounder: Navya Mor
Best Match Control Player: Roli Pandya
Upcoming Player: Prachi Goyal
Faheem Khan to lead MP Shotokan unit
The Madhya Pradesh unit of the National Shotokan Karate Association has constituted its new state executive, with Faheem Khan of Khargone elected president and Yuvraj Baghel of Kukshi elected secretary.
The office-bearers were chosen unanimously after a state-level karate training camp and referee-judge refresher course held at Radiant Martial Arts Academy in Kukshi on Sunday.
Trainers from different districts participated in the programme and received technical training in kata, kumite and kihon.
Sensei Sanjay Pawar conducted the practical training sessions, focusing on modern techniques, skill development and competition performance.
Focus on fair judging
A referee and judge refresher course was also organised for senior instructors.
Sensei Mahesh Kumar Verma explained competition procedures, judging methods, rules and the responsibilities of referees and judges.
The course aimed at increasing the pool of qualified technical officials in Madhya Pradesh and ensuring fair and rule-based judging at competitions.
New executive elected
The state executive elections were held later at Hotel Pamela.
Sarita Alawa of Umarban and Bablu Verma of Khargone were elected vice-presidents. Ashwin Artia and Ranjana Patidar were named joint secretaries, while Ranjana Basedia was elected treasurer.
Executive members include Anil Verma, Pooja Prajapat, Kanan Mali, Shyam Parmar, Umang Hammad and Nitisha Tomar.
State association chairman Dr Kamini Sanjay Pawar and founder Sanjay Pawar congratulated the newly elected office-bearers and expressed hope that the new body would strengthen Shotokan Karate, develop coaches and judges and create better opportunities for players from Madhya Pradesh.
