Captain Karthik Govind Swamy, a senior member of the squad and a player with a lot of professional experience (having played for Churchill Brothers and Chennai City FC in the I-League), said the time spent together in camp after the group stages helped them become a stronger unit.
The state have never previously progressed to this stage of the tournament and will now vie for the title when the knockouts take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their dream came true when they beat former champions West Bengal 2-1 in their concluding Group B encounter at the OFA 7th Battalio
A Manipur team stung by the defeat to Meghalaya in their previous game ran rampant against a hapless Bengal side at the Kalinga Stadium in the evening kick-off. The loss means Bengal is knocked out of the competition, with two games yet to play.
Despite a bright start, where they pressed high and harried Services off the ball, Bengal was, for the most part, outthought if not outplayed by a Services team that is proving to be as clinical as they are classy
In the evening kickoffs, Odisha ran riot at the Kalinga Stadium, scoring four goals in a thrilling win for the home team while Punjab edged out Maharashtra in a seven-goal thriller.
Odisha has made a strong mark on the national and international sporting map following the success of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 in Bhubaneswar-Rourkela and the recent FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
The AIFF Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran, along with Avijit Paul, Executive Committee Member, AIFF, and Joint Secretary, Football Association of Odisha, addressed the local media in Bhubaneswar on the eve of the launch of the Santosh Trophy.
Later, Odisha, hosting the tournament for the first time since May 2012, will play Maharashtra, while eight-time champions Punjab battle it out against Karnataka at the 7th Battalion Ground; both matches are set to kick off at 3 PM IST
India's newest football association has made strides in the arena of futsal as well. Ladakh's inaugural club championship was won by Dzawo 11 FC, who will take the honour of representing the union territory at the Futsal Club Championship in New Delhi next year.
Two major highlights of Jan's exploits revolve around the famous Santosh trophy. There is hardly a top player in the country who hasn't gone through the grind of the Santosh Trophy at some stage of his career in the last eight decades. And Osman Jan was one of the most illustrious to have pl