BHUBANESWAR 03-Mar-2014 267
Local favourites Yazdani Club-73 emerged champions in the 16th Tata-Utkalika Cup All-India Invitation Football Tournament, edging out Tata Football Academy (Jamshedpur) 1-0 in the final at Unit-6 High School Ground here today.
After a barren first-half, Santosh Nayak scored the all-important goal in the 50th minute. The champions became richer by Rs 20,000 and the runners-up took home Rs 10,000.
Seikh Jahid, Ramesh Nayak and Pandu Singh (all Club-73) received prizes as the man of the final, best goalkeeper and best defender awards respectively. Biswajit Sardar and K Udanta Singh of TFA grabbed the prizes as best forward and player of the tournament respectively.
Odisha Olympic Association secretary Asirbad Behera inaugurated the tournament and State Sports Secretary Saswata Mishra handed over the trophy in the closing ceremony. Former international footballers Rajendra Prasad Singh and Gitanjali Khuntia were felicitated on the occasion. The tournament, featuring eight teams, was organised by Unit-VI Athletic Association.
RESULTS:
February 24 (QF 1): Yazdani Club-73 (Antu Murmu 6th, Santosh Nayak 14th) beat AG Odisha 2-0.
February 25 (QF 2): Odisha Homeguards, Cuttack (Purna Chandra Samal 15th, Adil Khan 57th) beat East Coast Railway 2-0.
February 26 (QF 3): Kishore Club (Prasant Nayak 70th) beat Odisha Police 1-0.
February 27 (QF-3): Tata Football Academy (Arjun 59th, 72nd; Seiminlum Kipgew 10th, K Udanta Singh 32nd) beat Unit-VI Athletic Association (Prakash Nayak 29th) 4-1.
February 28 (SF 1): Yazdani Club-73 beat Kishore Club 4-3 in penalty shoot out (FT 0-0).
March 1 (SF 2): Tata Football Academy (Udanta Singh 33rd, Vinit Ray 36th) beat Odisha Homeguards 2-0.
March 3 (Final): Yazdani Club-73 (Santosh Nayak 50th) beat Tata Football Academy 1-0.
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PHOTO: Club-73 players with Tata-Utkalika Cup in Bhubaneswar on March 3, 2014.
