MSSA secures first place for Olympic Day celebrations

Dilip Tirkey and Fr Jude Rodrigues

The Mumbai Schools Sports' Association (MSSA) has been awarded first place by Hockey India (HI) in the Olympic Day celebrations contest. The contest was organised by HI for all its affiliated state associations to celebrate Olympic Day on June 23, the founding day of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894.

MSSA organised inter-school hockey tournaments across four categories (U-14 boys and girls, and U-16 boys and girls) that saw 36 teams and a total of 648 players in action at the MHAL ground, Churchgate, where Olympian and India's junior women's coach Tushar Khandker was the chief guest. "We congratulate MSSA and applaud them for their effort to instill the spirit of Olympic Day and sportsmanship in students. They have provided a platform for young athletes to showcase their abilities and instill in them the values of teamwork, discipline and fair play by ensuring their participation in such an event," HI president and former India captain Dilip Tirkey wrote in an appreciation letter to MSSA.

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MSSA president Fr Jude Rodrigues is proud of his team's achievements. "We had numerous meetings to plan for this Olympic Day celebrations contest and I'm glad to see that all the hard work put in by our hockey secretary Sarah Alphonso and her team has borne fruit. This award from Hockey India has encouraged us to begin our new inter-school sporting season on a positive note," Fr Rodrigues told mid-day. MSSA received a gift hamper of 40 hockey packs (one hockey stick, ball and a stick case in each pack) from Hockey India to be distributed to their players.