Hamilton Sangam won the ‘Sangam Carnival Soccer Championship’ title, creating a hat trick at the annual tournament held at the Centre Park in South Auckland on March 9.
The team defeated their Wellington rivals 3-1 in penalty kicks after both sides were locked at Nil at the end of play time.
Earlier, Hamilton beat Botany Sangam in semi-final 2-0.
Wellington Sangam Coach and former Lautoka and Fiji Rep Poasa Tubuna said that he was extremely proud of his team for reaching the final.
“Fighting a tough team like the Hamilton Sangam was creditable,” he said.
Other honours
Among the others who won honours at the two-day Tournament were Ashish Sahayam of Wellington (Most Valuable Player), Sumeet Shankaran of Hamilton (Golden Boot), Bimal Prakash (Best Goalkeeper), Waitakere Sangam (Best Disciplined Team) and Botany Sangam (Best Dressed Team).
Twelve TIV branches from various parts of the country participated in the Sangam Carnival Soccer Championship.
More than 4000 people attended the Carnival hosted by the New Zealand Sangam to promote quality soccer and companionship among the members of the community.
The event kicked off with an opening ceremony on March 8, which included a parade of all the teams. Chief Guest Avinash Naidu said that it was a proud moment for him to record the achievements of the organisation since the early days when he was the President.
Marking culture
Shiva Mudaliar, who represented the Sangam Trustees, said that it was pleasing to see sports uniting people.
“The Carnival is a celebration of our culture. There is something for all members of the family including children,” he said.
There were bouncy castles, merry-go-round, bouncy slides and other amusements free of charge for children’s entertainment. There were also fun competitions such as ice-cream eating, balloon-blowing, sack-race and dance-off. Free giveaways were distributed throughout the event.
Humm FM 106.2, a sponsor, had its Sports Commentator Satend Kumar providing live commentary of the Middlemore and Waitakere Sangam match.
Main purpose
Event Chairman Rupendra Swamy said that the Carnival achieved its main aim of bringing together the different generations in the community.
Among the major Sponsors of the Carnival were Active Security Services, Right Cover Insurance Advisors and AK Silkscreen Limited.
Photos:
- Hamilton and Wellington Sangam playing in the final
- Hamilton and Botany in semifinal
- The Carnival Committee- Back row (from left) Jaynald Anand, Ashwin Choy, Pranesh Gounder, Nalesh Naidu, Venktesh Goundar, Sachida Naidu; Front row (from left) Ravi Ratnam, Prakash Mani, Rupen Swamy, Rajan Reddy, Munish Chetty, Adrian Charya
- Amusement for children
