SINGAPORE – An impromptu cold shower was part of Bavesh Kumar’s reward after he scored the match-winner in Friday’s C Division boys’ football final.
The 13-year-old right-winger had scored from a free kick just before half-time, and it proved to be the only goal of the game as Victoria School beat Singapore Sports School 1-0 at the National Stadium.
“I think we showed a lot of determination and we were very willing to win, our coach said, it’s not about how good you are, it’s how good you want to be,” said Bavesh, minutes after the trophy presentation and gold medal in his hand.
He barely got any words into the interview before his teammates rushed over and emptied their water bottles over his head.
Victoria’s delight was understandable.
They were crowned East Zone champions in 2022 – there was no national championships for the boys due to Covid-19 – and were C Division champions in 2019.
The National School Games were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.
Victoria captain Ian Iskandar was proud of the way his teammates rose to the occasion. He said: “We really showed that we worked hard on the training ground to achieve this result.
“I think we had a lot of nerves because it’s the first time we played the National Stadium, so once the dust settled down, we could play our game.”
The earlier girls’ final at the same venue was a one-sided affair. Meridian Secondary thrashed Queensway Secondary 6-0 in a rematch of the 2022 final, which ended 6-3 in Meridian’s favour.
Liyana Indah Rickit, who scored twice in the 2022 victory, managed five this time. In total, she scored 22 of Meridian’s 75 goals this campaign.
She credited head coach Fabio da Silva’s pre-match speech, saying: “He said to give it our all and to leave this pitch with no regret; just do our best and show our hunger.”
She said her third goal, a mazy run past five players before a curled effort into the top corner, was her favourite of the final.
She added: “There was pressure but my coach told me that to take it in a positive way. So when it got better I felt more happy.”
Da Silva said it took some time for his girls to get into the match, adding: “But after we scored the first or second goal, we were more comfortable in the game and we can play our football.”
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