QBT21 Recap
It’s Friday, June the 4th, the long weekend is peering just around the corner, and we are absolutely fizzing – it’s QBT weekend, baby!
It had been a year since COVID-19 inflicted lockdowns and restrictions disrupted the 2020 QBT. But this year was different, things were looking up and excitement was rising.
Everyone was thinking about the weekend ahead. Some were calculating how much traffic they were going to be battling in the morning, some were thinking about the forecast -which was predicting heavy rain, while some were putting together the skuxxest outfit they possibly could for the famous QBT social. But, everyone was thinking about one thing – who were going to be hailed champions of the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Tournament?
In this year’s competition, Auckland had two men’s teams competing and one women’s team; one team for each respective grade.
Day #1: Saturday June 5th
It’s the first day of tourney and spirits are high. Despite the forecast predicting cats and dogs, the weather is holding out well and continues to do so for the duration of the day.
The first Auckland game of the day was between our women’s team and North Harbour Indian Sports Club (NHISC). The ladies gave it their all but were unfortunate, losing to North Harbour, 2-0.
Next up, our Auckland A men were up against the Pukekohe men’s B team. Our men came away with a 5-0 win – light work.
Goal scorers: Dipesh Dahya (FG, FG), Shae Iswar (FG, FG), Jonathon Bilkey (PC).
Our Auckland B men were the last of the Auckland lot to play. The B men went up against Pukekohe C men. Like our Auckland A men, Auckland B left Pukekohe pointless, securing a 3-0 win.
Goal scorers: Miten Patel (FG), Malay Patel (FG), Aarun Patel (PC).
Day #2: Sunday June 6th
Women’s G1: It was an early start for our women’s team, going up against the number one ranked team, Pukekohe Indian Sports Club (PISC) women. Spectators were treated to some marvellous hockey as the PISC women were caught off guard by the AISC women who had gotten into the rhythm of things after taking an unfortunate loss on day #1. Our ladies played spectacularly and beat the previous champions with a 2-1 win!
Goal scorers: Aleesha Nana (PC), Shareena Nana (FG).
Men’s B G1: For their first game of the day, our men’s B team went up against the North Harbour Indian Sports Club. Unfortunately, the result of the game saw NHISC walk away with more goals, with the final score standing at 3-1. Goal scorers: Vijay Patel (PC).
Men’s A G1: Auckland A men were up against the men from Christchurch Indian Sports Club (CISC). Making it look easy, the men cleaned up and walked away with a 6-0 win.
Goal scorers: Akshay Chauhan (FG), Manraj Gill (FG, PC, PC), Jaiden Gosha (FG, FG).
Women’s G2: Refuelled and fizzing from their morning win, the women were back for their second game, against the Wellington Indian Sports Club (WISC). Despite the game having to be called off late into the final quarter due to heavy rain and a flooded turf, our ladies played exceptionally in the conditions and came away with a 4-0 win.
Goal scorers: Shareena Nana (FG), Priya Dahya (FG, FG), Chhaya Naran (PC).
Men’s B Semi Final: Despite facing a loss in their previous game, our B men came back and played with determination. They battled it out against the Central Districts Indian Sports Club (CDISC), in a bid to secure their spot in the final for the following day. Success! Our men fought hard, securing a 3-2 win. They were on their way to the finals!
Goal scorers: Malay Patel (FG), Nilesh Patel (FG), Miten Patel (PC).
Men’s A Semi Final: Our A men were on a good roll; would they be able to continue their winning streak? The men went out on the turf, prepared to go up against the previous champs – Wellington Indian Sports Club. An intense game of hockey, the score was tied at 2 all at full time. The game moves into shoot outs.
The team huddles together while Deelan Patel (GK), Keshan Narsai, Manraj Gill, Prashant Patel, Shae Iswar and Pritesh Prema prepare to go into the shootout. Nerves are at an absolute high, but our men are calm and collected.
Our men put away 4/5 goals – one more than WISC put away. They’ve done it! The A team are on their way to finals – played boys!
Goal scorers: Kieran Chhiba (PC), Shae Iswar (FG)
Shootout scorers: Keshan Narsai, Prashant Patel, Shae Iswar, Pritesh Prema
Day #3: Monday June 7th
Last day of tourney and what an exciting day! Both our men’s teams had secured a place in the finals to play for 1st/2nd place. Our ladies’ team were gearing up for their final game of the tournament.
Our women went up against the women from the Bay of Plenty Indian Sports Club (BOPISC). Despite a successful run of hockey on day #2, the final game for the ladies was proving to be tough. Unfortunately, Bay of Plenty was the stronger team, securing a 5-0 win.
Men’s B Final: After securing their place in the final, the men’s B team were back and ready to play. Their opposition was the North Harbour Indian Sports Club – the only team they had taken a loss against.
Our Men’s B team battled hard and were determined to change the outcome from their previous day’s game. With pure skill and grit, the men showed North Harbour who the stronger team was, putting away their first goal in the 9th minute of the game – a strong start!
The team played their hearts out, not letting NHISC put away even one goal.
Full-time, the score stood as 1-0. The men had done it, they were the Men’s B champions!
Goal scorer: Vijay Patel (FG)
Men’s A Final: Pukekohe A vs Auckland A. The last game of the day, the main event.
The sidelines were brimming with Auckland and Pukekohe supporters. The weather was cold, but spectators were wrapped up and ready to watch what was going to unfold to be an extremely spectacular game of hockey.
Both teams soldiered out onto the turf, preparing for the battle of the coveted DC. It was a nail-biting experience as the ball went back and forth.
At half-time the game stands at nil all - both teams are giving each other a run for their money.
The whistle blows for the second half and it’s not long before PISC have infiltrated our circle… foot – it’s a PC. The crowd goes silent as the players set up. The silence suddenly turns into a roar of cheering… except it’s not Auckland cheering, it’s Puke – they’ve scored.
The game isn’t over yet, anything can happen. The team resets and continues to play a high calibre of hockey. The clock seems to be ticking faster and faster and it feels like the end of the game is nearing quickly.
The boys begin to make their way back into their attacking circle, they’re determined to keep fighting. With only two minutes to go, the team has worked exceptionally to bring the ball into their attacking circle. Jonathon Bilkey is positioned perfectly at the top of the circle where he receives the ball; wasting no time, he cracks the ball straight into goal. The spectators erupt with joy in celebration of the stellar goal scored. Auckland is back in the game!
Full-time, it’s a tie – 1 all. Auckland are back in the same nail-biting situation as they were yesterday – shootouts.
Again, the men are calm and collected. Deelan Patel (GK), Keshan Narsai, Kieran Chhiba, Prashant Patel and Shae Iswar prepare to go in.
PISC go first – it’s in.
All good, Keshan Narsai brings Auckland up to score.
PISC go next – in, again.
Not to worry, Kieran has it in the bag – it’s in.
PISC’s turn again. Not so lucky this time PISC – saved by Deelan!
Prashant’s up next. He puts it away effortlessly – that’s three in for Auckland.
PISC’s last man is up. They’ve currently got 2 in, 1 more and they’re back on par with Auckland. Unfortunately, PISC’s man is no match for Deelan, who absolutely kills it with defence and saves yet another goal!
Shae’s our final shooter. It’s dead silent… the sidelines erupt - it’s Aucklanders! Shae has put away the final goal leaving Auckland with a clean sweep!
Goal scorers: Jonathon Bilkey (FG)
Shootout scorers: Keshan Narsai, Kieran Chhiba, Prashant Patel, Shae Iswar
The men have done it – 2021 QBT champions! What a way to win!
If you missed out or just want to relive the glory, check out the video below for a replay of the men’s A final. (Skip to 1:41:00)
Final Rankings:
Men's A:
1st - Auckland A
2nd - Pukekohe A
3rd - Wellington A
4th - Christchurch
5th - Pukekohe B
6th - Bay of Plenty.
Men’s B
1st - Auckland B
2nd - North Harbour
3rd - Waikato
4th - Central Districts
5th - Pukekohe C
6th - Wellington B.
Women's
1st - Bay of Plenty
2nd - North Harbour
3rd - Pukekohe
4th - Auckland
5th - Wellington.
Auckland team MVPs:
Men's A
Auckland - Shae Iswar
Men’s B
Auckland - Milan Kanji
Women
Auckland - Beena Bhana
Player of the tournament
Nilesh Patel (B Section)
Tournament Teams
Congratulations to all players selected for this year’s tournament teams:
Men’s A
Akshay Chauhan - Auckland
Deelan Patel - Auckland
Kieran Chiba - Auckland
Manraj Gill - Auckland
Shae Iswar - Auckland
Men’s B
Amriesh Lala - Auckland
Jaiman Soma - Auckland
Malay Patel - Auckland
Nilesh Patel - Auckland
Roshan Naik - Auckland
Women
Chhaya Naran - Auckland
Shareena Nana - Auckland
Shivani Unka - Auckland
We would also like to say a big thank you to Morris from Fenchurch Liquor who very kindly donated hoodies for all our QBT teams so that we could rock matching gears – thanks Morris!
We hope you all enjoyed QBT’21 and are looking forward to QBT’22 in Christchurch.
For more info on tournament results and player stats check out
Men’s A: https://hockeynz.altiusrt.com/competitions/408