CHM pip Mahatma, get double

Mumbai, Nov 20: Southpaw Samson Silveira turned on the heat when it mattered most as CHM College, Ulhasnagar, deposed defending champions Ma...

Mumbai, Nov 20: Southpaw Samson Silveira turned on the heat when it mattered most as CHM College, Ulhasnagar, deposed defending champions Mahatma Education Society to wrest the Mumbai University men8217;s handball title at Somaiya College here today. The 21-20 win was fitting revenge for CHM, who had lost to Mahatma in last year8217;s final.

Earlier, CHM girls, led by junior national Rekha Rawat, easily defeated Pendharkar College, Dombivli 9-4 to clinch the women8217;s title. Tempers ran high in the men8217;s final, as Mahatma had sworn to decimate their arch rivals by a 10-point margin. CHM had their tails up. Trailing 4-7, the unmarked Samson Silveira reeled off four goals in a row to give CHM a 9-8 edge at half-time.

CHM suffered a huge setback in the second half when their key offence player Sudhir Mirajkar was shown the red card for abusing the referee. How were they going to manage the remaining 22 minutes?

Samson rose to the occasion. Egged on by the bench, he took control and kept the score level with fastbreaks and drives. Mahatma paid heavily by not opting for a double team on him. They did tag him with one man, Sushant Kulkarni, with the score tied at 16-16 with 13 minutes left. But it was too late, as Umesh Musale 2 and Derryl Paul scored to draw level at 20-20. 33 seconds left.

It was appropriate Samson score the decider. He did, earning a penalty with a fast-break dribble. And he converted, sending the CHM cheering squad into hysteria.

The women8217;s final was one-sided, and CHM could afford a player short in defence against the toothless Pendharkar attack. That accounted for Sheetal Pagar8217;s fast-breaks, while captain Rekha Rawat mixed her passes well to earn penalties on offence.

Results

Men8217;s final:

CHM 21 Samson Silveira 11, Sudhir Mirajkar 4, Umesh Musale 3, Sagar Kulkarni 2, Derryl Paul bt Mahatma 20 Sushant Thakur 5, Munnalal Yadav 6, Ajay Kulkarni 7, Mangesh Pandit, Asif Shaikh HT 9-8.

Women8217;s final:

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CHM 9 Rekha Rawat 4, Sheetal Pagar 3, Vira Sonawane 2 btPendharkar 4 Shilpa Shetty 2, Leena Wadekar, Shraddha Joshi HT 4-1.