New Delhi, Jul 20 (PTI) Special Olympics Bharat (SO Bharat) football team emerged champions at the Gothia Cup in Gottenburg, Sweden following a dominant display in the tournament.
The meet was held from July 14 to 18.
Supported by SKF India, the Indian team comprising athletes with intellectual and developmental delays, remained unbeaten in the group and lifted the trophy.
SO Bharat team was placed in group 5 along with Parasport Denmark 2, Special Olympics Finland Mixed, Special Olympics Hong Kong and Special Olympics Germany 1.
SO Bharat won their opening group game against SO Finland 3-0, and followed it up with a big 6-0 victory over SO Germany.
The Indian team defeated Hong Kong 6-0 and then registered a 3-1 win against SO Denmark to make it to the final.
In the final, the match between SO Bharat and SO Denmark went right down to the wire before the former won the thriller 4-3.
Muhammad Shaheer, who hails from Kerala, scored seven goals, the maximum by any Indian player.
Shaheer, a son of a fisherman, nurtures a passion for football along with other sports including cycling and swimming.
Upon its return to the country on Saturday, the team received a grand welcome at a felicitation ceremony here, which was attended by Raksha Khadse, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Mallika Nadda, President SO Bharat and Chairperson Asia Pacific Advisory Council (APAC), and Upasna Arora, Treasurer, SO Bharat.
The SO Bharat contingent, making its debut at the Gothia Cup in the ‘Gothia Special Olympics Trophy’, comprised 10 athletes and three coaches, from six states — Delhi, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. PTI SSC SSC AH AH
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