Also read: Bangladesh Youth Games - Dhaka football girls romp to final
"We have always lost to Mymensingh in different football tournaments before, but this time we managed to overcome them. We have three players - captain Ruma, Sadia and Arshida - who have the experience of playing for national U-14 and U-15 teams. The whole team were determined to win the title," said Bapon, singling out Ripa and Sadia Akter for praise. Both Ripa and Sadia are BKSP students and the duo scored a combined total of 22 goals in three matches. Both were part of the BKSP U-17 team which became unbeaten champion in the Subrata Mukherjee Cup in September last year where Ripa created a record by scoring in only 40 seconds into the game against Tripura. Ripa is locally known as "Messi" in her village Sonaichhari in Ukhiya upazila of Cox's Bazar. She played her first tournament in the Bangamata Gold Cup School Football Tournament in 2016 and became the best player in the divisional round. Chittagong couldn't find the young talent when they formed the team for the Youth Games but Bapon utilised the opportunity by picking up the 12-year-old during the trial. One of the most surprising talents in the boys' football is Piyas. Rajshahi put on an amazing display throughout the tournament riding on their attacking pair, Piyas and Sajib. Piyas featured in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup School Tournament in 2014 but has been surprisingly unnoticed since then. Four of his teammates play in the third division league but Piyas only played in Rajshahi League last year. He scored an eye-catching opener with a curved left-footer in the first half before adding another with the right foot in the second half Wednesday while Akash and Sajib added one apiece.
