Vignan Vidyalaya retains SFA 2019 crown

Vignan Vidyalaya asserted their supremacy in Hyderabads premier inter-school championship once again, retaining the coveted Sports For All crown at the Gachibowli Stadium here on a rainy Thursday evening.

The Nizampet-based school, which fielded a formidable line-up, began the gold hunt on Day 1 of this fortnight-long event, eventually cornering 34 gold, 49 silver and 51 bronze medals to win the winners' trophy in style and be adjudged the best sporting school in Hyderabad.

The Future Kid's School from Puppal Guda, however, caught the attention of all-comers, rising from their seventh and fifth place finishes over the last two years, to clinch the runners-up shield. They picked up an impressive 23 gold, 14 silver and 13 bronze in the championship, Powered by Byju's, the personalised learning app for school kids.

Sunflower Vedic School took the third place on the podium, thanks to their 12 gold, 20 silver and 19 bronze medals.

The SFA is a unique Olympic-style sports championship for schools and has attracted over 16,000 kids in 19 sporting disciplines this year.

"I would like to congratulate Vignan for successfully defending their title. They showed their mettle in virtually all the sports and are deserving winners," Rishikesh Joshi, founder of SFA, said. "SFA is loved by students and schools as the numbers indicate. I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Hero Sprint Pro and Byju's for their support and in helping us make SFA Hyderabad 2019 a grand success," he added.

"It is great to pick up the SFA trophy for the second time in a row. I would like to congratulate all my students and coaches for putting up such a stellar performance. I would also like to thank Sports For All for giving the students an amazing platform and we are eagerly looking forward to the next season," Rani Rudrama Devi, Vice Chairperson of Vignan Group of Institutions, said.

Meanwhile, Vignan Vidyalaya made it a grand finale for themselves, completing a double in the kabaddi event, winning both the title in the Under-17 category. The boys' team edged past Kennedy High - The Magnet School 30-29 while the girls' trounced Lord's Talent High School 46-17 to win the gold medal.

In the table tennis competition, Soham Karwal of The Future Kid's continued his good run to win the Under-15 Boys' title, adding to Wednesday's Under-17 gold. He beat Sai Prateek Shanmukha Vellala of Meridian School (Madhapur) 2-0 (11-7,11-6) to reign supreme; in the Girls' Under-15 category, Shrestha Reddy Kontham of Oakridge International School Newton Campus (Cyberabad) won the gold medal after she blanked Sarayu Bhavaraju of Meridian School, Banjara Hills 2-0 (11-8, 11-5).

In the Under-18 Boys' shotput event, Likith Reddy of Meluha International School won the gold medal for his 8.81 mts throw while Mukesh Kumar of CRPF Public School won the silver with a 8.66 mts heave. Sahith Kancharla of Indus International School settled for the bronze (8.60 mts).

The Future Kid's School eked out a comfortable 2-0 win over Nasr Boys School 2-0 to lift the Under-16 Hockey title.

( With inputs from IANS )