At MBA Olympics, It’s Oxford Saïd Again Over HEC Paris

MBAT Hec Paris

Olga Gavrilenko, an MBA student at IMD, in a mixed doubles final that IMD lost to London Business School

WINS AND LOSSES THROUGHOUT BEFORE A PARIS GALA

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ESADE MBA Jagtej Singh with his mixed-doubles partner took gold against HEC Paris

In another heated contest in mixed doubles at badminton, IMD narrowly lost a gold medal to London Business School, losing the best-of-three match 18-20 and 20-22. The final game was prolonged due to a long dispute over a call that the referree ultimately decided would be a do-over. But there was no denying the athleticism of one of IMD’s players, Olga Gavrilenko, who brought her A game to the court.

In the final men’s table tennis match, Rémy Tran, an MBA from the National University of Singapore, faced off against “HEC’s Hope” in the game, Vatsal Tolasaria. Tolasaria had a great start, building a 7-1 lead over his opponent. But then faltered, losing the first game in a best-of-five match, 10-12. He went down in the second game, 7-11, and despite being up in the third game, lost that one, too, on a score of 9-11.

After losing in the men’s singles, Jagtej Singh from ESADE more than redeemed himself in the mixed-doubles table tennis match, winning a gold medal for his school. While he had been eliminated by HEC’s Tolasaria in the singles, Jag–as he is known–came roaring back to win gold against an HEC mixed doubles team, no doubt motivated by his earlier defeat to the same school. In a ceremony after the win, he proudly stood tall with his mixed doubles partner, both showing off their gold medals for their hard-won efforts at the table.

MBAT HEC Paris

The gold medal for beach volleyball went to HEC Paris over IMD, while IE placed third

In beach volleyball, HEC did better, winning gold against IMD with a 14-8 victory under a blue sky filled with clouds and sand wet from an early morning rain.

And as the final day of competition wound to a close, MBA students gathered along the soccer pitch with HEC’s 19th Century neoclassical Château in the background. The championship European football match would pit London Business School vs. IE Business School. London finished strong, capturing a gold medal in the event, while IE had to settle for silver and HEC for a bronze medal.

After the competition, students were loaded onto buses and transported to Paris, 18 km away from the campus, to the ballroom of the Intercontinental Hotel where the party lasted until 4 a.m. In black-tie and gowns, the heated battles of the competition’s 34 separate contests and 57 variations with women’s and mixed teams began to gently fade as MBA candidates danced to hip-hop and other tunes. It was back to networking with MBAs from other schools, just having fun. The 32nd edition of the MBA Olympics was now in the history books.

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The Battle of the Bands competition on Friday night

DON’T MISS: AT HEC PARIS, THE MBA GAMES BEGIN or OXFORD’S SAID BUSINESS SCHOOL EDGES CLOSER TO THE BIG BRAGGING RIGHTS or THE MBA OLYMPICS: ORGANIZING THE LARGEST GLOBAL GATHERING OF MBAs

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