It was well past 2 a.m. by the time the annual floodlit volleyball tournament organized by the Parsee Youth League of Ahmedabad (PYLA) ended at The Parsi Sanatorium grounds on the banks of the river Sabarmati on May 28, 2017, noted a report from one of the players Hoshedar Daboo. Team Wadia under captain Ariz Bokdawalla lifted the Jimmy Muglai Cup while team Maneckshaw under captain Meherzad Hansotia emerged as the runners up. "Using their experience,” Team Wadia won the finals scoring 21-16 in the first set, 17-21 in the second and 21-19 in the third. Hosted by PYLA for the last 35 years, this year six teams participated in the tournament named after prominent Parsi families — Godrej, Tata, Wadia, Petit, Maneckshaw and Bhabha.
Rohinton Kavina from Team Maneckshaw won the Best Player medal while Shezad Babycon from Team Godrej and Kayan Daruwala from Team Petit were declared as the Most Promising Youngsters. Freddy Muglai presented the Cup named after his father to the winning team. The late Jimmy Muglai who was a legendary body builder and seven-time winner of the Mr Gujarat title was also an avid volleyball player who helped his Sanatorium team win many tournaments in the past. His sons Freddy and Burzis are very good volleyball players too. The prizes were sponsored by the Ahmedabad Parsi Panchayat (APP), PYLA and Rusi Bavadam of Parsang Karaoke.
(Top): Team Wadia lifting the Jimmy Muglai Cup (inset) and team Maneckshaw
Boman Munshi and Aspi Hansotia, outstanding volleyball players of yore were presented Lifetime Achievement awards at the hands of APP president Brig Jahangir Anklesaria (Retd) and trustee Dr Armaity Davar. Snacks for the participants and the spectators who numbered over a hundred were organized by PYLA. The tournament was held at the Sanatorium grounds after a gap of six years and Delzad Khambatta was specially commended for his efforts to get the ground ready, writes Daboo.