Swami Vivekanand International School (Kandivli) qualified for their maiden girls U-16 Division-II final thanks to a narrow 1-0 win over Podar International School (Santacruz) in the Dream Sports Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school football tournament at Wings Sports Centre, Bandra, on Thursday.
The decisive moment for the Kandivli outfit came in the 22nd minute when Riva Hegde scored from the penalty spot, not only giving her side the win, but also helping them seal promotion to Division-I.

For Swami Vivekanand, the journey to the final has been far from straightforward. They began the competition with limited resources, 
fielding only nine players in their first three group matches due to the absence of several squad members from Class 10, who were unavailable due to examinations. Despite the disadvantage, the team managed to beat Utpal Sanghavi (Juhu) 1-0, Bhaktivedanta (Andheri) 3-0, and Universal High School (Malad) 2-0.

Once at full-strength, they managed to defeat Oxford Public School (Kandivli) 5-0 in the pre-quarters before ousting Shindewadi Mumbai Public School (Parel) 3-1 on penalties in the last-eight tie.