Earlier on their way to the final, OSJA beat Delhi-B 2-1, Bangalore 17-16 and Mumbai-B 3-1. In basketball free-throw competition, OSJA beat Delhi to reach quarterfinals, where they lost to Bangalore.

OSJA players also put up impressive performance for East Zone in the J K Bose Cricket Tournament even though East Zone lost their three league matches against North, South and West zones. In reply to North`s total of 163 for five in 20 overs, East were restricted to 110 for nine. North allrounder Siddharth Sharma hit 62 and picked up two wickets to be adjudged the man of the match. Odisha’s Abdul Aziz shone with the ball for East Zone, bagging two wickets for 24 runs.

North Zone rode on Siddharth Sharma`s fine all-round performance to beat East Zone by 53 runs at Gymkhana ground, while South Zone thrashed West Zone by 10 wickets at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal.

In the next match, Odisha allrounder Faizal Ali`s impressive performance went in vain as East Zone lost to host South Zone by eight wickets. Ali slammed 47-ball unbeaten 60 with the help of four boundaries and three sixes to enable East make a sizeable total of 160 for two in the stipulated 20 overs at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal. He stitched together 111 runs for the second-wicket stand with Assam batsman Hirak Jyoti Malakar, who hit a 50 ball 65 (5x4, 2x6).

But South overhauled the target in 18.3 overs, losing two wickets in the process. Roshan Thyagarajan starred in the South win, slamming an unbeaten 88. He was well supported by Bhagawati Prasad, who scored 61.

In their last league match, East Zone lost to West Zone by six wickets despite a half-century by Odisha allrounder Abdul Aziz. Batting first at Gymkhana ground, East Zone made 128 for five in 20 overs. Aziz hit a 48-ball 57 with the help of seven boundaries, while his statemate Faizal Ali contributed a run-a-ball 32. But West Zone overhauled the target in 18 overs, losing four wickets in the process. North Zone emerged champions with two wins and a loss. They defeated South Zone in the last league match by 46 runs.

In the SJFI elections G Viswanath and Subodh Mall Barua were re-elected as the president and secretary respectively for a two-year term (2014-16). OSJA joint-secretary Debi Prasanna Mohanty voted in the elections.

The competitions were part of the 37th SJFI National Convention and were hosted by Andhra Pradesh Sports Journalists Association from June 3. The JK Bose tournament was earlier inaugurated by National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand and former cricket star VVS Laxman.

P R Mansingh, the manager of the 1983 World Cup winning Indian cricket team and Hyderabad Police Commissioner P V Anand were present on the occasion. OSJA is likely to host the 38th National Convention at Bhubaneswar next year.

SJFI OFFICE-BEARERS: President: G Viswanath. Vice-presidents: Bikash Pandey, Saroja Chakraborty, A Vinod, G Boda. Secretary: Subodh Mall Barua. Joint-secretary: Prashanth. Treasurer: R Kishore. Executive members: Sambit Mohapatra, Biswajit Saha, Amitav Das Sharma, Ratan Chakraborty, S S Ramaswamy, Sohash, Kishore Wagle.
-------------------------------------------------------- PHOTOS --------------------------------------------------------
TOP: OSJA players (L to R) Faizal Ali, Sambit Mohapatra and Abdul Aziz in Hyderabad on June 6, 2014.
RIGHT: East Zone team at the J K Bose Trophy Cricket Tournament in Hyderabad on June 4, 2014.