A replica of the Cricket World Cup made by a group of school students was the major attraction on the day when India faced Sri Lanka in the finals. The giant replica was on display in the main thoroughfare of Tiruchi a whole day.
Teamwork
The students — N.K. Sathyanarayana (XI), S. Arunkumar (XI), N.K. Ramana (VII), all of St. James Matriculation Higher Secondary School, L.N. Versha (VII), L.N.A. Janani (IV), both of St. Joseph's Convent Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, B. Gayathri (X) of Savithri Vidyasala H.S. School — made the replica. All the students are residents of West Boulevard Road.
They were guided and assisted by T. Ishwarya Narayani, a second year student of B.Com. of Cauvery College for Women, and S. Narayanan, a MBA student.
The replica was made using PVC pipes, flex banners and straw. Later the cup was covered with gold paper. The students' team started making the replica on the night India defeated Pakistan in the semi-finals. With annual exams under way, the students took a break off their study time every two or three hours to make the cup.
According to N.K. Satyanarayana, the local residents of West Boulevard Road made a similar replica of the World Cup when India entered the finals in the World Cup tournament in South Africa in 2003. The youngsters who heard this decided to make one of their own this time. When India finally emerged victorious, the students celebrated by bursting crackers in front of the replica.