Shillong, Sept. 11: Big FM’s Big Futsal Fest entered its second day today with the remaining eight teams vying for the11 quarter-finals spot. Matching the pace and intensity of the inaugural day’s action, Match Day 2 also saw keenly contested games between the government and corporate offices that lined up to play. In the first game, Assembly FC withstood a spirited fight back from MBDA to win the game 4-2. Robert Nongrum netted a brace to help Assembly FC secure a spot in the quarters. MIMHANS surprised everyone with an easy 6-2 victory over CNRD Sohïong with two of their players, Brandon Dkhar and Sukjingmut Dhar, helping themselves to hat tricks.
The tournament witnessed its first penalty shootout in the match between Water Resources and HQ Defenders when it ended 2-2 at full time. The Department of Water resources kept their nerve to win 3-2 on penalties. However, the best was saved for last when Fivestar Shylla of the Meghalaya Secretariat Home Guards lit up a damp afternoon with a remarkable feat of individual brilliance by scoring 8 goals in a single match. He helped his team thump KHADC by a score line of 10-2.
After the two rounds of matches, the quarter final line up is now complete and promises some intriguing contests. ITI Shillong will take on the fancied AG Meghalaya Futsal Team while PHE face MeECL, a team riding high on confidence after winning a thrilling contest against SP Office, East Khasi Hills on Matchday One. In the other two quarter final matches, MIMHANS will face Assembly FC while Water Resources will have to take on Fivestar Shylla and his team of Home Guards. The quarterfinals will be played on 12 th
September at the Thrive Sports Arena, Lankyrding from 12pm 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.
Big FM’s Big Futsal Fest got off to a great start today with several high scoring games enthralling both spectators and onlookers alike. Day 1 of Shillong’s 1 st ever Inter Office Futsal Competition saw 4 (four) games being contested by the city’s government and corporate offices. Shri ShakliarWarjri, Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs, Govt of Meghalaya inaugurated the competition and praised the organizers and participating teams for being part of this inaugural festival of futsal.
In the begining on the 10 of Sep 2024 The speech he highlighted the government of Meghalaya’s efforts to promote sports especially football through its flagship programme ‘Mission Football’ and pointed out that initiatives like Big Futsal Fest fits in perfectly with the government’s ongoing endeavor to enrich the state’s sporting calendar. Shri A.L Hek, Minister of Animal Husbandry & Veterinary, Govt of Meghalaya was the Guest of Honor at the event where he unveiled the winners’ trophy and declared the tournament open.
In the games that took place during the day, NEEPCO defeated ITI Shillong 7-2 with David Kurkalang netting four goals for the winners. The highly accomplished AG Meghalaya Futsal team easily overcame Banalari Motors 4-1 while MeECL saw off SP Office, East Khasi Hills 7-6 in the most thrilling match of the day. The last match was between PHE Department and MUDA, with the former winning 7-3. It may be mentioned that 16 government and corporate offices of the state are taking part in this knock out format tournament that’s being held in Thrive Sports Arena, Langkyrding from 10 th -14 th September.
Big Futsal Fest is being organized by Big FM with support from the Department of Sports & Youth Affairs, Maruti Suzuki Arena, Indian Bank and Royal Enfield.
