Indian Sports Centre organises Ladies Throwball Tournament

The Ladies Throwball Tournament was organised by the Indian Sports Centre (ISC), under the aegis of the Indian embassy, on October 14 and 15 at Hamilton International School.

Twelve teams from India and Sri Lanka participated. The draws and trophy release were held on October 10 at Zaitoon restaurant. Chief guest of the event was Suman Sonkar, first secretary from the embassy of India.The 122 participating teams of the tournament were the Indian Women’s Association, Indian Warrior, Karnataka Sangha Qatar, Mangalore Cricket Club, Mangalore Cultural Association, Bunts Qatar, Qatar Tamizhar Sangam, Queen Bees, Star Sports, Tulukoota-1, Tulukoota-2 and WISQ Ravens.The grand opening ceremony on October 14 was graced by Dr Alpna Deepak Mittal, wife of Indian ambassador Dr Deepak Mittal, who motivated the women players. ISC president Dr Mohan Thomas, in his address, appreciated Anil Kumar Boloor, appointed as head of throwball, and the team. He also thanked the volunteers and sponsors for their support.In his address, Boloor conveyed a message from Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Nasser, vice-chairman and chief operating officer of Venture Gulf, the event sponsor.Mangalore Cricket Club won the first quarterfinal against Star Sports, while Tulukoota-2 lost to Karnataka Sangha Qatar in the second quarterfinal. The third quarterfinal was won by Mangalore Cultural Association against Queen Bees, and Tulukoota-1 was the winner of the fourth quarterfinal against Qatar Tamizhar Sangam. The opening day ended with the semifinals. Mangalore Cricket Club won the first semifinal against Karnataka Sangha Qatar in a nail-biting finish, while Tulukoota-1 secured a comfortable victory against Mangalore Cultural Association in the second semifinal.On the second day of matches, Karnataka Sangha Qatar won the third place against Mangalore Cultural Association. The grand final was played between Tulukoota-1 and Mangalore Cricket Club.Tulukoota-1, the most balanced team in the tournament, won the final comfortably with brilliant performances by all the players.Day 2 was graced by chief guest Mariam Farid, one of the first Qatari female athletes to compete in the World Athletics Championships. She motivated the players and was highly appreciative of the organisation and execution of the event by ISC.Rukkaiya Pachisa, head of finance, ISC, welcomed the chief guest, players and sponsors. Dr Thomas applauded the efforts of his team and performance of the players and congratulated the winners.Farid and guest of honour Harish Baliga, general manager of Venture Gulf, were honoured with mementos. Trophies, awards and mementos were presented to all the winners, supporters and sponsors. The maiden ISC Trophy was lifted by Tulukoota-1. Star Sports won the Fair Play award.Muriel Merlyn of Tulukoota-1 won the Player of the Tournament award, while Aisha Mohamed of Mangalore Cricket Club bagged the Best Receiver Trophy. Sujatha of Karnataka Sangha Qatar won the Best Attacker Trophy.Boloor thanked the ISC president and his team, supporters, volunteers, all the teams and players of the tournaments, officials, sponsors and his family for their tremendous support. Reena Alex Castelino was the Master of Ceremonies for all three events.ISC vice-president Sheji Valiyakath, Indian Cultural Centre vice-president Subramanya Hebbagelu, ISC general secretary T S Sreenivas, ISC MC members Nisha Agrawal, Rajesh Kannan, Sippy Jose, Varkey Boban, Yawar Ali and Ravi Shetty, managing director of ATS (gold sponsor) V S Mannangi, divisional manager of AlMuftah  Contracting Company (gold sponsor), representative from Naseem Healthcare (gold sponsor), and many associate associations' presidents and managing committee members also graced the event.