DHARAMSHALA, June 5: In a match befitting of a final, Phuntsokling FC, Orissa lifted the 18th Gyalyum Chenmo Memorial Gold Cup beating Tashi Phalkhiel Sports Club, Pokhara on penalties.
Thousands of football fans at the Tibetan Children’s Village School, Upper Dharamshala, were treated to a visual feast, with the 18 players on the field keeping everyone on the edge of their seats, much beyond the stipulated 90 minutes of play.
Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay was also present at the match along with a battery of Tibetan dignitaries.
Even as an unruly summer storm washed the ground with strong winds and rain, twisting umbrellas and drenching spectators to the bones, the excitement on an off the field was palpable.
Six minutes into the whistle, loud cheers of “Pokhara, Pokhara” echoed through the hills as Tashi Phalkhiel’s lucky number 7 Norbu Dorjee once again brought good fortune to his team, scoring the first goal of the finals.
Orissa’s much-needed equaliser came in the 36th minute when Tsewang Namgyal found the back of Pokhara’s net with a brilliant header.
At goal apiece, the Dharamshala crowd was equally behind both the teams, cheering on the players as they tried hard to convert half-chances and missed opportunities.
The second half of the match went goalless even as both the teams created openings but failed to score.
With the match nearing its full time, players began to take shots from well outside the 18 yards box, desperate to find the elusive lead.
In a repeat of last year’s finals, at full time the scores stood at 1 – 1, forcing the match into 20 minutes of extra time.
In a game of nerves, both the teams played to their defense, marking their opponents well to blunt out all attacks.
After the full 110 minutes of play, the match went into the most exciting of finishes, the penalty shoot-out.
Orissa’s goalkeeper Tenzin Namdak came up with two dazzling saves, throwing his body at the ball to win the game and the most coveted football tournament for his team.
The Orissa players carried Namdak on their shoulders for a deserving victory lap of the ground.
Kalon Tripa Dr Sangay handed over the GCM Gold Cup and a winner’s cheque of INR 100,000.00 to Orissa.
Pokhara went away with the runner’s up prize of INR 60,000.00.
Orissa’s Jangchup Gyaltsen and Pokhara’s Norbu Dorjee, emerged as the top scorer of the tournament and were awarded a cash prize of INR 5000 each.
The 18th GCMGC was kicked off by Indian football icon and former captain Bhaichung Bhutia on May 26.
Throughout the tournament, players from all the 19 teams in the fray, wore black arm bands in a show of “support and solidarity with Tibetans inside Tibet.”
The GCM is the most popular football tournament in the exile Tibetan community. It was initially organised in 1981 as a “club level tournament in memory of the late mother of the XIVth Dalai Lama.”
