OFA names teams for Jr National soccer

Orissa Football Association (OFA) today appointed Shekh Zahid as captain of a 20-member state team for the 46th Junior National Football Championship to be held at Mandya, Karnataka from December 20 to January 10. Zahid and his statemates are scheduled to play their three league matches against Meghalaya, Goa and Jammu & Kashmir on December 20, 22 and 24 respectively. Interestingly, the selectors have chosen as many as 14 players from Cuttack, two from Balasore and one each from Kalahandi, Dhenkanal, Sambalpur and Bolangir. Surprisingly, no player from Bhubaneswar, the new hub of football in the state, was found competent by the selectors for inclusion in the state team. Team Orissa: Goalkeepers: Ramesh Chandra Naik, Kasper Bagh Defenders: Pandu Singh, Susanta Kumar Jena, Sk Sahabag Alam, Sk Rajan, Soumya Ranjan Behera, Kanhai Charan Majhi, Bijya Baral. Mid-fielders: Sk Zahid (capt), Sanatan Lohar, Simal Marandi, Satyabrata Swain, Sunaram Majhi. Forwards: Somanah Naik Sudam Soren, Malaya Naik, Laxman Murmu, Thakur Das Murmu, Sitansu Garuda. Officials: Rajsekhar Pradhan (coach), Mokim Khan (manager).