PANJIM: Goa has opened its account at the National Games with a bronze medal in the trampoline event at Vadodara. Army man Abhijit Nimbalkar, stationed in Goa, won a bronze medal on Monday. He scored 45.790 out of a possible 50.
The gold medal went to Adarsh Bhoir of Maharashtra and Manu Murali of Services Sports Control Board the silver.
The bronze medal was a bright spot in what was otherwise another disappointing day for the State. Its women’s football team was thrashed 4-0 by Manipur.
After achieving his podium spot, Nimbalkar said, “It is a great feeling to win a medal for Goa. We were judged on the degree of difficulty, time of flight and execution. All the hard work has paid off.”
Nimbalkar said he competes as well as coaches at the Goa Gymnastics Association. He will be now leave for Mumbai to attend a selection camp ahead of the World Championship in Belgium. This selection process will be held on October 9.
In Ahmedabad, earlier in the day, Goa’s football campaign was hit by a Manipuri hurricane. Mabel Mascarenhas, coach of the team, said, “It was a very tough match with our players playing their hearts out. The audience was appreciative of our performance and the Manipuri team which featured several international players complimented our team for their performance.”
When asked what the difference between the teams was, Mabel said Goa committed one or two mistakes in defence and paid the price. In terms of skill, she said both teams were on par.
“Baladevi, the international player in the Manipur team had scored five goals against Tamil Nadu but was able to score just one against Goa because of our marking,” Mabel said.
“Goalkeeper Prithi Kerasker played very well and was a strong wall, saving several shots,” she added.