Shillong, Sept. 13: The quarter final fixtures of Big FM’s Big Futsal Fest saw a host of stars shining on the field, especially from the tournament favourites AG Meghlaya FT. Former I League player, Sheen Sohktung, scored a brace and so did his Shillong Premier League (SPL) colleague Chanmitre Thma to help their team AG Meghalaya defeat ITI Shillong 6-1. The other prominent football players representing AG Meghalaya, former SPL players Surjay Pariyar and Vinici Darlong also had a good outing.
However other luminaries like Aiborlang Khongjee were left disappointed as his team Assembly FC lost to the tournament’s surprise package MIMHANS 6-4. The latter are winning hearts and minds in this tournament with their adept display on the field and the effervescence of their supporters. The employees and students of MIMHANS turned up in droves, steadfastly and enthusiastically cheering their team through a closely fought encounter.
Brandon Dkhar was the star for MIMHANS ably leading the team and scoring his second hat trick of the tournament. While the former I League and SPL players performed admirably, it was the lesser known performers like Brandon Dkhar, Ebormi Buam and the revelation of the tournament, Fivestar Shylla who lit up the day’s action. MeECL’s Buam displayed his goal scoring prowess by netting 5 goals in his team’s 9-4 victory over PHE FT and Fivestar Shylla almost single handedly lifted his team to the semi finals by scoring all 4 goals in MSHG’s 4-3 victory over Water Resources. After his 8 goal heroics in the previous game, Fivestar Shylla is now the tournament’s leading goal scorer by a distance.
The atmosphere in the Thrive Sports Arena, Langkyrding was electric and festive, largely thanks to the supporters of MIMHANS, and the semi finals of Shillong’s 1 st ever Inter Office Futsal tournament promise an even better spectacle as the stars of AG Meghalaya face a tricky tie against the ever improving MeECL. The other semi final match is no less fascinating with the neutral’s favourite MIMHANS squaring off against the equally admired Fivestar Shylla and his team of Home Guards. The penultimate round of games for Big Futsal Fest will be played on 13 th September 2024 from 2pm onwards.
Big Futsal Fest is a unique government-private sector partnership to promote Futsal in Shillong by creating a festival of competition, friendly rivalry, and sportsmanship, all while promoting the
importance of sport for health and well-being. It is being organised by Big FM with support from the Department of Sports & Youth Affairs and Maruti Suzuki Arena, Royal Enfield, Indian Bank, T7 News and the Directorate of Information & Public Relations.
