Sports
Tilottama Gold Cup: Dauphins claim third straight title
Dauphins Family of Cameroon defeated Nepal Police Club (NPC) in sudden death penalty shootout in the final of the Tilottama Gold Cup football tournament to claim third back-to-back titles in Butwal on Monday.Amrita Anmol
Dauphins Family of Cameroon defeated Nepal Police Club (NPC) in sudden death penalty shootout in the final of the Tilottama Gold Cup football tournament to claim third back-to-back titles in Butwal on Monday.
Dauphins, who were deemed unauthorised to play by the football governing body All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) on Sunday, defeated NPC in the shootout after the regular period finished in a goalless deadlock. The tiebreaker also failed to separate the two teams as it ended 5-5. In the sudden death penalties, Dauphins shot-stopper Priso Ndjanga denied Tej Tamang while Nia converted his shot to seal victory. In the tiebreaker, Ajeet Bhandari, Bharat Shah, Rabi Paswan, Tirtha Rana Magar and Suman Lama converted for NPC from the spot. Jo Angoula, Petnga, Ekewiem, Priso Ndjhnga and Njama Yannick scored for Dauphins from the spot.
Dauphins had earlier claimed the Pokhara Gold Cup on February 10 and Budha Subba Gold Cup in Dharan on February 16. In three weeks, they bagged a total of Rs 2.43 million in prize money including Rs 880,000 for the Tilottama triumph. Dauphins received Rs 755,000 as the champions of Pokhara Cup and Rs 800,000 as Budha Subba winners.
Last year’s runners-up NPC, who had lost against the same opponent in Budha Subba semi-finals, received Rs 550,000. NPC coach Ananta Raj Thapa said his team paid the price for fielding a mix of inexperienced and junior players against the physical strong opponents. Dauphins skipper Angoula credited the victory to the collective teamwork.
Hosts Rupandehi XI’s Ashis Gurung was declared the best player of the tournament and received a two-wheeler. While Dauphins goalie Priso was declared the best goalkeeper, NP took all four remaining individual awards. Thapa was named the best coach, Hem Tamang the best defender award, Paswan the best forward and Bikram Dhimal the best midfielder. All of them received Rs 25,000 each.