The grounds of Tata Mills Co-op Housing Society, Parel, were host to the All-Parsi Tournament that was organized by their very own Tata Housing Sports Club, in association with Marazban Colony. The air was charged with much excitement and energy as 26 teams battled it out, over 13 days, from 13^th to 25^th February, 2023, competing across three categories – Sepak, Direct Volleyball and Indirect Volleyball. Played in the league format, the organizing team comprising – Behzad Faroodi, Neville Goveshni, Rayomand Nauwezidan, Rayomand Kassad, Astad Palkhiwalla, Afrid Palkhiwalla, Paras Daruwalla, Shahzad Ichhaporia and Anoz Balsara – received much praise for the event’s excellent planning and seamless execution, all through.

Sponsored by title sponsors – WZO Trusts and Viraf Mehta alongside co-sponsors – Zubin Royal fleet, Nariman Sports and Jangid group, this was the first ever All-Parsis tournament to be jointly hosted by two different societies. The reason was, over the last few years, volleyball as a sport had seen a downhill trend within the community, as many Baugs and societies had stopped playing this sport, and hence weren’t organising the tournament. “The primary motive behind holding this tournament jointly was to encourage the sport, which was once a favourite sport among All Parsees tourneys, and not let it fade away. This joint endeavour was much appreciated by all, especially the competing teams, which had requested that it be continued as an annual event,” explained the organisers.

Speak (also known as Sepak Takraw or Kick Volleyball), which originated in South East Asia, is considered to be a blend of Volleyball and Football. Kerman Darbari, Captain of the winning team – Godrej Baug A Team, said, “Our team comprised members with ages ranging from 19 to 45 years! We practiced regularly and were quite confident of winning. Even in the finals, when we were down by 2 sets to 0, our team persevered and we came back taking it one set at a time, to claim victory. This was a fantastic initiative and the ground was very well prepared and maintained.”

His sentiments were echoed by Sunny M. Patel, captain of  Ben Stallions, winner of the Direct Volleyball segment of the tournament. “We played a good game and were elated to win in the finals after a tough match. But I feel we would have had a more competitive edge if we would have a similar ground at Gamadia Colony and were able to practice more. The infrastructure here at Tata Mills CHS was super,” he shared.

Sohrab Mehta, Captain of the winning team for Indirect Volleyball, from Malcolm Baug, was all praises for the organizers, “The entire tournament was very well organised and the infrastructure was very good. We were certainly proud to win the trophy. Every team member was outstanding – it helped that we had a young team and have maintained our fitness levels.”

Going by the enthusiasm levels of both team players and spectators, the All Parsi Tournament is certainly back with a bang!