BAPS Charities organised a national 5-a-side football tournament for youths, the Yagnapurush Cup, on Saturday 10 June 2017 at Powerleague Barnet, London.
Twenty teams and more than 100 participants from local communities across the UK joined together with enthusiasm and healthy competitiveness for an event that provided enjoyment and fostered tremendous community spirit throughout.
The tournament began with the group matches which provided plenty of entertainment as well as talent. The top two teams from each group progressed to the quarter-finals of the Yagnapurush Cup, with the third- and fourth-placed teams being entered into the quarter-finals of the Pragji Cup.
The group games provided fabulous entertainment, with many games being played at such a fast pace, and so many goals being scored – South London A top scoring with 20 goals, and North London A and Leicester A coming a close second with 18 goals each.
The pick of the Yagnapurush Cup quarter-finals were two competitive games played against teams from the same area, Leicester A vs Leicester B and South London A vs South London B, with favourites Leicester A and South London B coming out as winners.
The semi-finals of the Pragji Cup produced two entertaining matches. BAPS Maintenance defeated South London C while Harrow B overcame Wellingborough.
In the semi-finals of the Yagnapurush Cup, Harrow A lost out to Leicester A, 1-0, while North London A beat South London B 2-1. Both games were played to a close finish.
The final of the Pragji Cup was a tight game with the 2016 champions BAPS Maintenance vs Harrow B. BAPS Maintenance were looking to retain their trophy, although Harrow B had other ideas and emerged 2-1 winners.
The final of the much-coveted Yagnapurush Cup was contested between North London A and Leicester A. After a tense opening, with both teams looking to be cautious, the game came alive with a quick-fire goal from both teams. This was the first goal Leicester A had conceded all tournament, but this hardly put them off and they continued to attack. Both teams now knew the next goal was crucial. North London A tried their hardest through their attacking players to get their second goal, but breaching this Leicester A’s solid back line was proving to be difficult. Leicester A kept on the attack with their top goal-scorer and managed to get another two goals to end up winning 3-1.
The popular event encouraged exercise for youths leading busy lifestyles and helped to enhance community relations between youths from various towns and cities around the country.
The event concluded with individual and team award presentations as detailed below:
|
Trophy |
Awardee |
|
Yagnapurush Cup Winners |
Leicester A |
|
Yagnapurush Cup Runners-Up |
North London A |
|
Yagnapurush Cup Golden Boot |
Hari Patel (Leicester A) |
|
Yagnapurush Cup Best Goalkeeper |
Keval Parshotam (Harrow A) |
|
Trophy |
Awardee |
|
Pragji Cup Winners |
Harrow B |
|
Pragji Cup Runners-Up |
BAPS Maintenance |
|
Pragji Cup Golden Boot |
Niral Vekaria (BAPS Maintenance) |
|
Pragji Cup Best Goalkeeper |
Het Patel (Harrow B) |
