MUMBAI: Finally it was 14-year-old Sanchita who walked away victorious at Zee’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs contest, beating the other two close contestants due to her selection of some great songs. The girl from Kolkata was over the moon with happiness after the win. “I had prepared some really sizzling songs, and I guess they went down well with the audience,” she said.

It made her evening happier when she received the award from superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Diwakar Sharma from Delhi and Sameer Mohammad from Mumbai were the first and second runners-up respectively. Hours before the contest, the three youngsters were the portrait of poise, confidence and suppressed nervousness.

Sameer had said: “I’m not in the least nervous. Why should I be? I’ve done my best. What’s to happen will happen now. Whether I win or lose, these months have taught me a lot. I loved every moment of my experience here. Of course, I want to win. But I was equally prepared to win or lose. Divakar and Sanchita are my best friends. I’d certainly feel bad if they lost. But I’d be very happy about winning.”

Diwakar said, “I’m not at all nervous and I’m not at all scared because I know I’m going to win. Of course, I’ll feel bad for Sameer and Sanchita. Sameer is like my brother and Sanchita is like my sister. I want all of us to win.” Ironically Sanchita was the only one who admitted to being nervous. “I do feel scared. I’ve prepared all the songs for tonight. Now all I need is luck and the audiences’ vote on my side.”

It was Sanchita who walked away with the Li’l Champ trophy, defeating Sameer and Diwakar by a narrow margin. Fatigued but jubilant, Li’l Champs producer Gajendra Singh said: “It was a close run. I’m glad because Sanchita definitely had the best voice and range of the three finalists. Also, the general view that only guys win all these music contests like ‘Indian Idol’ and ‘Sa Re Ga Ma’ was broken. That was welcome.”