The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Fitness still helps them to kick freely

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Wednesday, Sep 12, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Fitness still helps them to kick freely

G. Prasad

Chennai club wins South India-level veteran football tournament at Kumbakonam

— Photo: M. Srinath

Going steady: Members of Robinson Park Football Club (Chennai) which won the tournament, conducted at Kumbakonam on Sunday.

KUMBAKONAM: The agility of the participants at the South India-level veteran football tournament defied their age.

Their deft moves and clever passing did portray that experience counts, after all.

Sixteen teams from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry took part in the two-day event, conducted by the Kumbakonam Veteran Football Association, which concluded here on Sunday.

Robinson Park Football Club, Chennai, won the title defeating Periyar Nagar, Bangalore, in the final. Both the teams were deadlocked 0-0 in the allotted time and even the tie-breaker could not chaff out the victor. Hence the tournament organising committee employed the spin of the coin method to decide the winner. “Since most of the participants were former players, the tournament brought back memories of their good old days. The fitness levels of the players were amazing and every team fought till the very end. The event also provided an opportunity for the players to bump into their old friends,” says the Vice-President of the All India Veteran Football Association, A. Swaminathan.

The youngsters, who watched the enthusiastic seniors play, would be spurred into taking an interest to football.

And that might have been the reason behind bringing the tournament to smaller places like Kumbakonam. “The event enjoyed good patronage from the crowd. We have decided to conduct a veteran tourney on a regular basis in Kumbakonam,” says the President of the Kumbakonam Veteran Football Association, S.M. Martin.

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