Batch Championship 4.0 : A Preview

Inter-batch rivalry remains extremely popular in colleges around the world and it’s no different at Ashoka. The Monsoon semester at Ashoka is filled with excitement and apprehension surrounding the new semester. Amidst all the hubbub around midsem deadlines, placements and securing internships for the upcoming summer, it’s also that time of the year when inter-batch rivalry is at an all-time high at Ashoka. The Batch Championship, hosted by the Sports Enthusiast Club (SEC), is Ashoka’s first intra-college sports weekend of the calendar year. 

Besides serving as an appetiser for curious freshers, the Batch Championship reignites the fervour among batches— it’s only in this week every September that Ashoka sees players from their own sports teams compete against each other for Batch Championship glory. First and foremost, the Batch Championship provides students with the unique opportunity of forming their own teams without all the confusion and planning that is characteristic of the auction system that dominates the rest of Ashoka’s sporting events. This brings along with it an element of surprise, with the student body not knowing where the next underdog story could emerge. 

Last year’s Batch Championship saw some major upsets, especially in Badminton and NCM-Basketball. Former fresher Shaan Kejriwal overcame the Ashokan badminton stalwarts in Prithvi Bapna and Gokul Sundaraghavan to grab the gold medal for the UG28s. On the basketball court, the NCM freshers starred with two teams, each reaching the semi-finals. The first leg of the semis saw an upset victory as the UG28 Athenas made their way past the experienced ASP team with help from Saanvi and Co. 

NCM Basketball at the Dhaba court

The second leg of the semi-finals saw another team of freshers (the UG28 Players) give the UG

27 sophomores (a team mostly composed of NCM players on the Ashokan team) an incredibly close fight, but eventually falling short. What followed in the finals was nothing short of one of the best basketball games played at Ashoka, with the freshers upending the reigning sophomores to clinch the gold medal. This fresher fever that almost overcame Ashoka at the previous year’s Batch Championship sets us up for an exciting set of matches this time around. Of course, there is also the unknown factor of the talent and hunger that comes with Ashoka’s newest batch - the first of whom we will see this Wednesday at various venues across the campus. 

While some sports saw a breach of normalcy, others witnessed a continuation of domination. At the tennis court, Sarthak Gandhi and the UG26s glided past the competition to the gold medal, with Sarthak going undefeated on his way to gold. In the cis men's basketball fixtures, the UG27 Rizzlies brushed aside any team that sought to dethrone their place at the top of the basketball hierarchy. Powered by Shubhay, Gian, Aarav, Vatsl (the list is long), the Rizzlies gave not an inch to other teams, no matter how experienced or energetic they were. At the end of five days of relentless competition, the UG27s emerged victorious, thus continuing the tradition of second-year students winning the Batch Championship. 

Batch Championship action at the football field

This year’s Batch Championship will be the fourth edition of its kind, and it promises to be the most exciting one yet. There seems to be no dearth of competition, and at this stage, it is quite difficult to predict the winners for each sport, save a few. Even at the football field, one of the most popular venues for Ashoka’s sports lovers and viewers, deciding which team to place your bets on is tough. Around this time a year ago, the UG26s came out on top, defeating the infamous ASPs in the finals. The UG27 Footybois were the pre-tourney favourites, but failed to even make the finals. It is difficult to tell if the UG26s can emulate their previous run, especially since they will be missing Jaidhar Vashist (semester abroad) and Aryaaman Girish, who has chosen to fight the 9-5 battle instead of the one against Bhavin Shivaa. Several factors point to a toss-up in determining who will win among the UG26s, UG27s and the UG28s. 

Regardless, the next 5 days are sure to provide some of the most intense battles across 16 sports in different venues across campus. Being the first sporting event of the year, the Batch Championship will set the mood for the remaining 8 months of sports at Ashoka. It promises to be an eventful 5 days of stellar performances and dramatic showdowns as Ashoka’s batches go head to head for the ultimate crown- Batch Champions.