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Neeraj Chawla from New Delhi wins Street Union, the national freestyle football championship, which is also the official India qualifier of the Red Bull Street Style World Championship.
Street Union 2018, the Indian qualifier for Red Bull Street Style, took place at Mumbai’s R City Mall in Ghatkopar on October 27.
The national freestyle football championship featured athletes from all over the country battling it out in a head-to-head knockout format to claim the crown of national champion.
This year, the winner of the competition is honoured with the amazing opportunity to represent India at the world finals of Red Bull Street Style – the foremost freestyle football championship in the world. From being the pioneer freestyle football tournament when it was held first in 2008, Red Bull Street Style has come a long way as it marks its tenth year of giving freestyle footballers a platform to showcase their skills. The competition is being held in association with the World Freestyle Football Association with qualifiers taking place in over 50 nations around the world. The best athlete from each national final earns a chance to represent their country at the Red Bull Street Style World Finals 2018 on November 22 in Warsaw, Poland.
By winning Street union – the official Indian qualifier for Red Bull Street Style – Neeraj Chawla from New Delhi has earned the right to compete with the best freestyle footballers in the world in Poland.
The one-v-one competition started with 64 athletes in which each competitor was given three rounds of 30 seconds each to showcase their skills. Three judges compared the athletes on five criteria – all-round ability, originality, difficulty, execution and control – and decided which competitor was to proceed to the next round. From the round-of-16 stage, the panel featured five judges.
Freestyle football phenomenon and winner of the first-ever Red Bull Street Style World Championship, Sean Garnier, joined the panel from the round-of-16 to judge the best athletes from India, and eventually award the winner.
