Navi Mumbai: The 38th edition of the much awaited Inter School Annual Athletic Meet saw amateurs from various institutes rubbing shoulders with state and national level athletes in various tracks and field events at the sprawling Navi Mumbai Sports Association ground, Vashi.

Being organised under the aegis of New Bombay Area Schools Association (NBASA) the same witnessed new champions being crowned, in addition to the seasoned pros who maintained their supremacy in their respective events with an eye on the age group Champions Trophy too be dished out for various age groups at the end of the three day meet.

Debutant PES Central School, Belapur which fielded over 60 athletes tasted its first success after its Shot Putter Imtiayaz J Ansari won the first position in the U-12 Boys category with a heave of 9.42m ahead of Reliance Foundation School, Koperkhairne’s   Hanzala Monaye and Devang Mainkar who bagged the second and third position respectively.

Smt Radhikabai Meghe Vidyalaya, Airoli talented athlete Shreya Bandal having won the U-16 100m Gold, leaped to glory in the Girls U-16 Long Jump event after recording a distance of 4.59 m. She was closely followed by Saumya Naik of New Horizon Public School, Airoli and Advita Kamble from SBOA Public School, Nerul respectively on the Podium. Advita, who is also a state level Hockey player, further brought glory to her school by finishing third in the 800m and 1500m events too.

Don Bosco Senior Secondary School, Nerul’s quartet of Kavya Kamni, Ananya Jadhav, Rhea Manjre and Suhana A Gaffor fine performance in the 4x100m Relay event saw them annex the U-10 Girls category. Fr. Agnel Multipurpose School, Vashi and Ryan International School, Nerul followed suit close behind.

The Boys and Girls U-16 4x100m Relay events saw Fr. Agnel Multipurpose School, Vashi emerged as the undisputed champions as has been the case over the years. A power packed performance by Agnel’s Mayonn Rao, Jareen Mascarcenas, Pratik Shivtare and Ashutosh Behera saw them surge ahead of their closest rivals of New Horizon Public School, Airoli’s quartet of Pranav Bhere, Mayank Mhatre , Shreeansh Vishwakarma, Yatharth Nikam and that of Anjuman I Islam Abdul Azim Khatkhatay English Secondary School, Vashi who were represented by Airaf Sanadi, Maroof Lambatk, Juman and Ramzan Shaikh in the Boys category. On the other the Agnels eve led by Janhavi Chavan, Maitreyee Khangar, Yodhini Morde and Gagana Shetty proved too be good for their competitors form Kharghar based Bal Bharati Public School Navi Mumbai represented by Nithila Marimuthu, Sanika Khadke, Samira Pillai Tritika Shetty and those from New Horizon Public School, Airoli en-route Gold

Christ Academy School and Jr College, Koparkhairane dominated the Discus Throw event in the Boys U-16 category by bagging all the three medals at stake.  Avi Ketan Patel with a throw of 27.24 m, finished ahead of his school mates Shriyans Gawde (25.52 m) and Veer Nanda (25.27 m).

The Boys U-12 100 m sprint witnessed a very tight contest, as Ryan Christian School, Vashi Bryan Sangma pipped his closest rivals Fr. Agnel’s  Om Shine and Hridaan Bheda in a photo finish for the first position. Trailing the duo experienced Agneities athletes, with less than 20m to the finish line, Bryan accelerated to go past Hridaan, before diving forward to snatch the Gold medal from the jaw of defeat, akin to a fielder diving forward to complete the catch for a winning cause for his team.

Sharing his thoughts about the annual sporting extravaganza that is witnessing enthusiastic participation from thousands of athletes in Navi Mumbai and Panvel municipal jurisdictions along with Ulwe node, Suprith Jathanna, Coordinator NBASA said, “Being held in the month of February, the NBASA Annual Athletic Meet that is being held at the NMSA ground in Vashi has always witnessed huge response from students of our member schools (State, CBSE and ICSE boards) in various Track and Field events. Some of the prominent ones include those from Ryan International Groups of Schools, St. Xavier’s High School based in Airoli and Nerul, Bal Bharati Public School, Kharghar, Apeejay School based in Nerul and Kharghar, SBOA Public  School, Nerul, Koparkhairane based reputed schools of the likes of Christ Academy, Reliance Foundation School and defending champions Fr. Agnel’s High School, Vashi”.

He further added, “This being the 38th edition, over two thousand two hundred athletes (Boys’ and Girls’) in six age groups viz. U-6, U-8, U-10, U-12, U-14 & U-16 from nearly 39 schools will vie for individual and team glory in 64 events. The points garnered here will be added to the overall tally of those accumulated to various institutes in various Indoor and Outdoor sports held during the academic year 2024-25 for deciding the overall Championship trophy too".