The stage is set for the 70-year old competition but some big names from Indian football will be missing. Will some new name rise to glory?
By Patterson Fernandes
And Our 11 Year Wait Is Over: Bengal Are The Santosh Trophy Champions (Mango Peel)
The 65th edition of the Santosh Trophy football tournament is underway at Assam from May 6 to 30. The tournament that was started in 1941 is contested by various states and government institutions of India.
The organizers, All India Football Federation, have decided to keep the national team and I-League players out of the competition. This decision could certainly hamper the charm and standard of the competition. However, at the same time it promises to unearth some young talents of the country.
West Bengal, who have won the title a record 30 times, are the defending champions. However, this year they will miss the services of their senior players and same will be the case with other strong teams like Goa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra.
The competition features 31 teams which have been divided into 8 clusters at the preliminary stage, with last year’s semi-finalists Bengal, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Goa, directly placed in the Groups quarter-final round. The preliminary rounds have come to an end from which Assam, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Kerala, Services, Delhi, Tripura and Railways topped their respective groups.
In the pre-quarter-finals, Chhattisgarh defeated hosts Assam 4-2 while Manipur beat Kerala 7-6 on penalties after the match ended in a stalemate. The two winning teams have secured their place in the quarter-final group ‘A’ along with West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile the other two pre-quarterfinal matches - Services v/s Delhi and Tripura v/s Railways – will be played on May 18. The winners of these matches will be placed in group ‘B’ alongside five times champions Goa and eight times champions Punjab. Hence the quarter-final groups are more or less decided. They are as follows…
Group ‘A’
West Bengal
Tamil Nadu
Chhattisgarh
Manipur
Group ‘B’
Goa
Punjab
Services/Delhi
Railways/Tripura
The quarter-final stage will be played from May 17-24. The top two teams from each table will enter the semi-finals which will be held on May 27 while the grand finale is slated for May 30.
The stage is set for the biggest inter-state tournament of the country. Will it keep up to its reputation? Who will be crowned champions this year?