Navy Children winning the Nike-MSSA U-14 division II football title on Tuesday came as a surprise to many.
Navy Children winning the Nike-MSSA U-14 division II football title on Tuesday came as a surprise to many. Not only did the team have no coach, but the man who trained and travelled with them throughout the tournament was in fact a professional judo coach.
Navy Children's physical education teacher, Parraysh Chheda decided to coach the football team after they struggled to find a football coach. He was surprised with the team's eventual success. "It's a pleasant surprise but all credit to the boys," said Chheda after Navy beat St Pius (Mulund) 2-1 at Azad Maidan to win Div II.
In fact, it was Chheda's judo experience that helped. "I modelled the team's training around some of my judo techniques. My sessions concentrated more on physical fitness which is very important in a contact sport like judo. I made the boys do some Judo exercises to help build their endurance. I'm glad it helped on the football field," Chheda explained.
"This win would not have been possible without Chheda sir," said Navy skipper Pranjal Kumar.
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