PUNE: At the recently concluded 7th National Bandy Championship held in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, the Maharashtra team performed excellently, winning medals through four teams comprising 40 players selected by the Maharashtra Bandy Committee. The Under-10 boys, Under-12 girls, Under-17 girls, and Under-19 boys teams performed exceptionally well and won medals.
Maharashtra fielded five teams in the National Bandy Championship across the Under-10, Under-14, Under-17, and Under-19 boys and girls categories. Over 40 teams from 8–9 states, including Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi, and Maharashtra, competed in Dehradun. The Maharashtra team, mainly comprising players from Pandharpur, Raigad, Kolhapur, Mumbai, and Pune, performed strongly, with four teams winning medals. The Under-10 boys won bronze by beating Tamil Nadu 1–0, the Under-12 girls won gold against Uttar Pradesh 2–1, the Under-17 girls took silver, and the Under-19 boys won bronze, leading Maharashtra to finish 4th rank in the championship overall.
The Pune players from Maharashtra received training support as Dr. Kalmadi Shamarao Junior College Principal, Shobha Channal, made the college facilities available for practice, which immensely benefited the athletes. “This achievement has further elevated the state’s stature in national bandy sports”, said Ajay Jagtap, President of the Pune District Bandy Association and Secretary of the Pune District Ice Hockey Association.
Bandy is a sport similar to ice hockey and is widely recognized as a popular Russian sport. It is played across Europe, Scandinavian countries, the Baltic region, and Mongolia. Over the past few years, bandy has been gaining popularity in India, and this was the 7th National Championship. Maharashtra has been participating for the last two years, and notably, a significant number of players in the Maharashtra squad came from Pune.