Date:13/06/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/06/13/stories/2006061303330200.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

A champion team spotted

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Nokia on Monday announced Jogo Bonito team as the Bangalore "City Champion" of the nationwide "Nokia Defend Your Turf" Futsal Challenge.

The team now has a chance to compete for the "Defend your turf" title at the national finals to be held in Kolkata on June 17. It is a national-level street football championship announced by Nokia last month.

The winners of the championships will defend India's turf against the visiting Boys from Brazil, a leading team of street football players from Brazil. The Indian national winners will get an opportunity to rub shoulders with the leading professional football team of Brazil in Maracana, one of the biggest football stadiums in the world.

Ecstatic at being crowned the Bangalore winners of the Defend Your Turf competition, captain Prakash B., who plays for the junior Indian team, said: "It is great to win the title of city champions after a tough competition. The team had the right mix of skills, guts and attitude."

Devinder Kishore, Director Marketing, Nokia India, said: "We have received tremendous response from the Bangalore youth for the competition."