DSOBS Inter House Football July 2010

Gentlemen and Ladies of the Old Boys Fraternity of The Doon School

Hello.

For those of you who cannot be present at the DSOBS interhouse soccer tournament in Delhi, let me share some of the details with you. Please note, this is not an 'official' communique from the DSOBS - its more like a postcard from Delhi. I'm sure a full report and accurate statistics will follow a missive from the Secratariat or Rosebowl.

I can happily report from the sidelines here in Delhi (as I was not asked to otherwise demonstrate my mad-skills on the pitch) and give you some details as I remember them from the first day of play. Needless to say it has been a superb tournament so far at Plaza Farms, Sultanpur and there's some electric action lined up for tomorrow - the final day of play.

Weather:

The hot and muggy conditions of Delhi prevailed for most of the day meaning that anyone who was out of doors looked like they'd just bathed with all their clothes on. Thankfully, some light relief from the clouds was on the cards as we were drizzled upon from high, for the evening half of the games. The light shower was not enough to stop gameplay or enthusiasm levels.

Play:

Organisers were quick to kick off with the games after brief opening speeches and a quick run down of the rules of play. Matches were played from 6.30pm to 10pm with two matches being played side-by-side at Plaza Farms. A good crowd turned up, with most attendees ready to get onto the pitch to support their houses, clad in shinguards and full soccer kit. And some brave wives also came out to cheer on their husbands and stand up to the Dosco battlions that had gathered to celebrate the sport of the leather orb. Much enthusiasm was shown by all.

Second - the guys have taken the tournament pretty seriously with organisers Prithvi Gill, Anandbir Brar, Nalin Khanna and Nalin Sayal having gone to some considerable length to organise rules, referees and refreshments while promising some incredible football action from the captains and their sides. For those of you who missed it, the fresh kathi rolls and Kingfisher just off pitch were a pretty awesome highlight of the organisation too. Much applause is to be expended.

The lowdown:

The talk on the sidelines has been that Jaipur, Tata and Hyderabad are fielding some serious talent with major contentions for the prize, while Oberoi and Kashmir are putting up some sterling teams for each showdown. All teams are demonstrating a high level of football skill. Jaipur won all their games so they're close to bagging a final spot on Sunday's muqabala. Tata and Hyderabad are looking to mix things up for them.

Hard fought games all around and notable sportsmanship to be applauded. The chaps have literally gone that extra mile and beyond in terms of dedication and commitment to the DSOBS Inter-house Football Competition - 2010.

Here are the results. I wish we had a videographer - some of the gameplay and goals have been truly spectacular.

O-H - 3-0 to Hyderabad

T-K - 4-1 to Tata

T-H - 4-3 to Tata

O-J - 4-1 to Jaipur

K-J - 2-1 to Jaipur (have to verify)

T-J - 1-0 to Jaipur

Sunday matches:

Kashmir v Oberoi

Tata v Oberoi

Hyderabad v Jaipur

Kashmir v Hyderabad

Return present -

Gear including shorts, shoes and jerseys have been sponsored by Nike so there's been some awesome kit up for grabs for the team members who turned up for practice and played for their houses through the past couple of months. To those of you who didn't try out - baaad luck. Try next year. The players received jerseys customised with their house's colour and the DS-75 logo, and a pair of classic Nike soccer boots for away games. Fortis was also on hand as a sponsor to dish out medical care for those needing bunking chits.

More from the sidelines tomorrow. A link to my photos here:

Photos of Day 1_DSOBS footie - check back in about 20 minutes and all the photos will be up.

Good day,

Govind Dhar from Delhi

(192-T, 1997)