With massive participation from Indian colleges, state-of-the art sports facilities, performances by some of India's biggest stars, BITS Goa’s Sports festival Spree has cemented its name in the top sports festivals of India. Spree’16 was indeed a celebration of sport and an opportunity for the fastest, strongest and most skilled athletes in the country.
The action kicked off on day 0 itself, with some of the favorites easily winning their matches early on. BITS FC, Chowgule, Motilal all breezed through their group games of football, with much fanfare from the crowds watching. Meanwhile, BITS Goa kept its winning spree on in cricket as well by winning the match against Xavier’s (Jaipur) by 10 runs in a thrilling game. In the next match, much to the disappointment of the crowd, BITS Hyderabad lost to SIMS by a margin of 52 runs. In carrom, BITS Hyderabad sadly faced two consecutive defeats from BITS Goa and COEP.
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After an action-packed first day at the grounds, we had scintillating performances from HolyStoked, a professional skateboarding troop. It was followed by a professional footballer Tejas, who entertained the audience with his insane tricks and his chemistry with his football. All throughout, 9XM and 9XO, our associate partners, and The Times of India, our powered by partner helped us stay up-to-date with all the happenings.Day 2 continued the excitement – rightfully dubbed as “Semi-final Saturday”, we witnessed matches such as Maharishi vs BITS in the first of the matches in Women's Basketball. A dominant display saw the BITS secure a 28-6 victory, amidst much fanfare from the crowd. As for Men's basketball, riding on the back of impressive performances by Manish, Sahith and Vijith, among others, the home team navigated through some tricky moments, whilst bearing the searing heat to convert what once was a fragile 27-26 advantage to a comprehensive victory.
The Tennis last 4 will feature both the BITS Goa teams, as BITS A and BITS B finished 1st and 2nd in the group stage respectively. BITS A, led by Vatsal Tolasaria and Rachith Aiyappa played against NIT-K, while BITS B attempted to topple COEP and secure an all BITS final. And with all the excitement on the grounds, a plethora of food stalls, live screening of international matches, and movies meant everyone was entertained.
The DATSUN stall in particular attracted attention, showcasing their car, and slogans which empower one-self. Apart from this, informals like the Hogathon, RodeoBull and Water Zorbing kept people entertained throughout the Day, while YouTube cover artist Avanie Joshi and illusionist Arjun Guru enthralled the crowd on Night 2.PokerNite, title sponsored by Pokernation, was a major crowd puller.
Day 3 saw the deciding matches of most events and the thrill and excitement could be sensed among the crowd, especially for the events where the home teams had secured their places in the finals. Much to the chagrin of the home crowd, BITS FC lost their semi-final football match on penalties, after 0-0 draw at end of normal play.
Venkateswara College, the very team which beats BITS FC, went on to win the whole tournament with another victory through penalties in the finals. Venkateshwara also took home the Women's Basketball trophy, beating BITS in a well-contested match. In an exciting Cricket finals between SVC and Xaviers, SVC grabbed the winning trophy, defeating Xaviers by win 5 wickets.
The finals of the first edition of Squash at BITS Goa saw both teams from Manipal competing against each other. After an intense competition, MIT A won 2-0 against MIT B. For the non-sports enthusiasts, Department of Creative Works organised Scavenger Hunt, basically a Beg, Borrow or Steal event where participants had to acquire the items on the list by whatever means possible.
Day 3 ended on a high note with the soul-soothing performance of renowned Bollywood playback and folk singer, Angaraag Mahanta, popularly known as Papon. With his captivating baritone, he has won laurels and hearts across the nation and BITS Goa knows it. His band, Papon and the East India Company mesmerized the audience with their renditions of popular songs like Jiyein Kyun, Kyon from Barfi, Moh Moh Ke Dhaage and many others.
All in all, Spree 2016 was indeed a massive success. We saw some high-intensity games, good sportsmanship and the stunning performances by Papon and our other entertainers that truly wrapped up a wonderful 3 days.
