Syed Baqer Ali Jafferi JEDDAH — The Combined-XI Jeddah beat Sporting United Jeddah 2-1 in a thrilling final to claim the Indian Youth Welfare Association (IYWA) Blippar Cup here recently. IYWA had organized the football event to commemorate the 65th Republic Day of India here recently. Thirty six players, age 12 to 18, took part in the event played at the Bader Bakery Football ground. In a well-contested match, Sporting United Jeddah took the lead through Ahmed after enjoying territorial advantage in the early stages. But Combined–XI Jeddah slowly gained ground after the setback and literally toyed with the Sporting United Jeddah, spraying passes all over and creating numerous chances. Furqan Mehdi scored the equalizer for Combined–XI Jeddah just before the break. The Combined–XI Jeddah continued from where it had left off before the break and dominated play. It got the match-winner through Shahood Ali 15 minutes before final whistle. The event was joyful for the young players, who attend different schools, hail from different states back home and speak diverse languages, representing different teams in this football tournament. The match was supervised by Naushad while Muneer and Abdul Rahman were linesmen. Chief Guest Mohammed Noor Rahman Sheikh, Deputy Consul General & Consul (Haj), Consulate General of India, Jeddah, gave away the winner's trophy to Combined–XI Jeddah captain Jihad Kareem. Guest of Honor Pranav Ganesh Consul (Consular), Consulate General of India, Jeddah, gave away the runner-up trophy to Sporting United Jeddah captain Mohammed Ahmed. Guest of Honor S.R.H. Fahmi Consul (Community Welfare) gave away the winner's and runners-up medals. Special Guest N.P. Singh Vice Consul (PS), Anup Singh Vice Consul (Commercial), Dr. Ashraf (APUS) from Riyadh and Mir Mahmood Ali former national footballer gave away the Best Player of the Match award to Mehsan Mohiuddin, Best Goalkeeper award to Jihad Kareem, Best Forward award to Mohammed Ahmed, Best Defender award to Shahid Saleem and Upcoming Players award to Syed Zeeshan Abbas Jafferi and Mohammed Hyder Abbas Zaki. IYWA also honored the Deputy Head of Department of Sports, IISJ, Rasheed Alikkal in appreciation for his dedicated service for the game of football and the student community in the Kingdom. Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh lauded the efforts of IYWA in encouraging the sporting culture among the Indian community. He said sports help to keep people physically fit and lead a healthy lifestyle. Ganesh, in his address, said that the spirit with which the teams played will definitely help them to gain success in the coming games but most important is that it helps in attaining discipline in life. Fahmi,in his speech, said that the level of game has improved since the last year and players showed a good display of coordination and anticipation. Muzzammil Husain, Chief Coordinator of IYWA, also spoke on the occasion and briefed all about IYWA activities. Aijaz Ahmed Khan, Vice President (Sports) IYWA, recollected the services of Mir Gazanfar Ali Zaki former national football player and Director IYWA Football Academy, Manager Anwarul Haq, Assistant Manager Farooq Ahmed and coaches Mohammed Jaweed and Mir Fazal Ali for their services throughout the year. Hassan Bayazeed Ather, Mahmood Balsharaf, Syed Mohammed Quadri, Mirza Mohammed Baig and Obaid Bajho expressed their views about IYWA activities. The event was sponsored by Al-Ryan International Polyclinic Jeddah with the first aid medicines and nursing staff, Touch Point and Blippar — the reality/image-recognition app. represented in Saudi Arabia by Noman Abdul Majeed. IYWA President S.P. Singh welcomed the gathering, while General Secretary, Mir Gazanfar Ali Zaki gave a vote of thanks.
