PASIGHAT, Aug 31: Commerce and SOMACS were crowned champions of Arunachal Pradesh University's (APU) Futsal Fiesta 2026, winning the girls and boys titles respectively as the three-day inter-departmental tournament concluded at the PJ Arena here on Sunday, marking the culmination of the university's National Sports Day celebrations.
Commerce defeated SOMACSMAS 1-0 in the girls’ final, while SOMACS (Sociology, Mathematics and Computer Science) beat English-Hindi 4-1 to lift the boys’ title. SOMACSMAS finished runners-up in the girls’ category and English-Hindi in the boys’ category.
Individual awards were also announced. Taro Yaring of SOMACSMAS was named Best Player in the girls’ category, with teammate Minam Pangu earning Highest Scorer honours from Commerce, and Gebom Romin of Tribal Studies winning Best Goalkeeper. In the boys’ category, all three individual awards went to SOMACS: Anggit Moyong was named Best Player, Ojing Ngukir Best Goalkeeper, and Kangkeng Modi Highest Scorer.
Held from August 28 to 30 under the theme ‘Play, Unite and Celebrate’, the tournament was organised as part of National Sports Day, observed annually in honour of hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, and formed part of the university's push to promote physical fitness and a sporting culture among students.
Addressing the gathering after the prize distribution, APU Registrar Narmi Darang commended the participation and sporting spirit shown by all teams, congratulating the winners and acknowledging every participant.
The final day produced some of the tournament's most dramatic moments. SOMACS beat Tribal Studies 5-1 in the boys' semifinal, while Education and English-Hindi fought to a tense 3-3 finish before English-Hindi prevailed 4-3 on penalties.
A friendly match between the Academic Block and Administrative Block, featuring faculty and staff, added a lighter note to the closing day and drew cheers from students.