Bengal sailed into the finals of the Santosh Trophy 2022 after defeating Manipur 3-0 in their semi-final match in Payyanad stadium on Friday. Two early goals from Sujit Singh and Mohammad Fardin Ali helped Bengal take an early lead in the first half. Dilip Orawn (74) also found the back of the net to finish off the match in style.

With this victory, Bengal has now made the summit clash of the competition 46 times and will look to add to their record tally of 32 Hero Santosh Trophy titles when they face hosts Kerala in the final on Monday.

Manipur played an aggressive football but failed in front of the goal. Bangla football team goalkeeper Priyant Singh played a significant role with a couple of good saves in both halves of the match.

It took only 2 minutes for Sujit Singh to find the opener for Bangla from the pass of Mohammad Fardin Ali Molla. The defensive blunder from Manipur helped Fardin take the lead to 2-0. A defensive error from Manipur defenders helps Fardin dribble past two defenders slot home the second goal of the night.

Manipur managed to keep Bengal at bay and continued to play dangerous balls into the box. Meantime, Bengal struggled to dominate the second half despite a good early start in the first half. Priyant Singh, who was phenomenal for Bengal, stands between goal and Manipur's exertion to score one back. Sudhir Laitonjam and Shirak continued to pose a threat to Bengal.

Manipur managed to keep Bangla at bay and continued to play dangerous balls into the box. Meantime, Bengal struggled to dominate the second half despite a good early start in the first half. Priyant Singh, who was phenomenal, stands between goal and Manipur's exertion to score one back. Sudhir Laitonjam and Shirak continued to pose a threat to Bengal.

Dilip Orawn netted the third goal for Bengal in the 74th minute to make it 3-0. His misguided cross hit the side of the bar and fell directly into the back of the net. Manipur goalkeeper failed to read the cross.

Men from Bangla will now face Kerala in the finals of the Santosh Trophy at Payyanad Stadium on May 2, 2022. Kerala booked tickets to the final after defeating Karnataka 7-3 on Thursday. Kerala last met Bengal in the 2018 Santosh Trophy Final. Kerala beat them 4-2 in the shootout to lift Santosh Trophy after a gap of 14 years.

Bengal produced a dominating performance, thanks to a brilliant display from Fardin. However, Manipur came back from two-goal down to dominate the second quarter of the game. Goalkeeper Priyam Singh managed an incredible double save to get past the danger posed by Manipur from corners. Bengal's defence held on until the referee blew the final whistle to end the first half.

West Bengal has extended its sheer dominance in the National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy, winning the tournament for an unparalleled 33rd time. Robi Hansda's only goal in injury time snatched the trophy away from Kerala in the final at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium on 31 December 2024.

🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

For the 33rd time, West Bengal are 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 of the #SantoshTrophy 🌟#IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/HohyNuKFww

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) December 31, 2024

The 84-year-old tournament is one of the most prestigious trophies in Indian football to decide the state-level champions. Since its inception in 1941, 78 editions have taken place until 2024, crowning 13 different states as champions. 

West Bengal also hold the record for the most successive Santosh Trophy titles, having won six back-to-back editions between 1993 and 1999. Punjab is the second-most successful team with eight titles. Kerala and Services are third with seven Santosh Trophy titles each.

After missing out on the trophy after losing against Kerala on penalties in the 2021-22 Final, West Bengal has managed to avenge the loss in the 2024 Final. West Bengal is the state with the most trophies (33) and they also finished as runners-up for a record 14 times. 

Here is the list of the most successful teams in the history of the National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy. 

The most successful teams in the Santosh Trophy history

East Bengal FC will face Hyderabad FC in the first match of Group A in the Kalinga Super Cup 2024 on 9th January at the Kalinga Stadium. Hyderabad hasn't registered a victory in the 2023-24 ISL so far and is sitting at the bottom of the table after playing 11 games. Meanwhile, East Bengal has performed brilliantly defensively but has failed to score goals regularly. The Kolkata-based club is hanging 8th in the table with 2 victories, 5 draws, and 3 losses.

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With both teams eyeing a victory in their first match, this encounter promises to be an exciting one. Carles Cuadrat would love to see his team scoring goals which he expected after seeing East Bengal score 5 against NorthEast. Since then, Cuadrad's side hasn't scored any goals and played three 0-0 draws.

On the other side, Hyderabad FC has failed to replicate what they did last season in the ISL. The fans are expecting to witness their favourite club fighting positively for the first time this season when they face the Red & Gold Brigade at the Kalinga Stadium on Tuesday.

Match Details:

• Fixture: East Bengal vs Hyderabad: Kalinga Super Cup 2024

• Date: January 9

• Time: 2:00 PM (IST)

• Venue: Kalinga Stadium, Odisha

Where can we watch the East Bengal vs Hyderabad match?

All the matches of the Kalinga Super Cup 2024 including the East Bengal vs Hyderabad will be televised on Sports18 channel in India. Moreover, fans can watch the match on Jio Cinema as well.

Also Read: Kalinga Super Cup 2024 Mohun Bagan vs Sreenidi Deccan Match Preview, Team News, Possible Lineups, Head-to-head and Dream 11 Prediction

East Bengal vs Hyderabad: Team News

East Bengal FC

The Red and Gold brigade has put in a lot of effort defensively and given a tough fight to their opponents but have missed lots of opportunities in front of the goal. Cuadrat will hope for his Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva to replicate his league form in the Kalinga Super Cup 2024. Cleiton has scored 5 goals in the league and can be the differencemaker against Hyderabad FC on Tuesday.

Mandar Rao Desai might miss tomorrow's match. He didn't practice today. East Bengal would be expecting Nandha Kumar Sekar to create chances for the forwards. The 28-year-old creator has scored 2 goals and provided 3 assists in the league. Naorem Mahesh Singh has also scored 2 goals in 10 appearances in the league. Lalchungnunga and Naorem Mahesh will miss the game due to the call-up he received from the National Team.

Hyderabad FC

Hyderabad are struggling with financial issues. Their on-field and off-field problems have merged and it's not a positive atmosphere in the Nizam's camp right now. Hyderabad will miss the attacking power of Jonathan Moya. He left the club to join Liga Deportiva Alajuelense.

⚽️ Ready for the #KalingaSuperCup!#TheNawabs 💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/rgFpHndGBU

— Hyderabad FC (@HydFCOfficial) January 8, 2024

They will miss the likes of Nikhil Poojary who has been called up for the national team for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. Hyderabad would like to register their first victory of the season but it wouldn't be easy against the defensively solid, East Bengal side.

Also Read: Indian Football News: The Kalinga Super Cup will kick off in Odisha from January 9, 2024

East Bengal vs Hyderabad: Head-to-Head

Total Matches â€“ 7

East Bengal FC wins â€“ 1

Hyderabad FC wins â€“ 4

Draw – 2

Possible Starting Lineup:

East Bengal: Prabhsukhan Gill (GK), Nishu Kumar, Vishnu Puthiya Valappill, Hijazi Maher, Mohammad Rakip, Saul Crespo, Souvik Chakrabarti, Borja Herrera, Jose Antonio Pardo, Nandhakumar Sekar, Cleiton Silva.

Hyderabad FC: Gurmeet Singh (GK), Alex Saji, Chinglensana Singh, Nim Dorjee Tamang, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy, Sahil Tavora, Joao Victor, Mohammad Yasir, Petteri Pennanen, Joseph Knowles, Aaren D'Silva.

East Bengal vs Hyderabad: Dream XI Team Prediction

The groupings for the 76th Senior Men's National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy and the Hero Senior Women's National Football Championships were conducted at the Football House in New Delhi on Friday, October 21, 2022, in a virtual draw ceremony that was attended by the State FAs.

Also present in the draw ceremony was AIFF Secretary General Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran, who joined virtually from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, along with representatives of the State FAs, who joined the meeting from their respective states.

The two senior national football championships will be played in a new format that will see the 36 states fight it out across six groups for a chance to make it to the final round.

AIFF Secretary General Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran said after the ceremony, "I am glad to see the enthusiasm and proactive participation of the state association representatives in the virtual draw ceremony for Santosh Trophy and National Women's Championships today. With the new competitive structure for the senior national championships, we can expect value addition in many aspects of the game at the State level."

The six group toppers, along with three best second-placed teams will qualify for the Final Rounds of the Senior Men's National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy, while six group toppers, and the four best second-placed teams will make it to the Final Rounds of the Senior Women's National Football Championship.

Railways and Services will get direct entry into the Senior Men's National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy Final Rounds, while Railways will get direct entry to the Senior Women's National Football Championship Final Round.

In the Final Round, the 12 best teams from across the country will be divided into two groups of six teams each, as they will subsequently play in a round robin format, before proceeding to the knockout rounds.

The 36 State FAs were also invited to bid for the hosting rights of the Group Stages and the Final Rounds. As announced earlier, semi-finals and final of the 76th Senior Men's NFC for Santosh Trophy will be held in Saudi Arabia.

Groupings for the 76th Senior Men's NFC for Santosh Trophy:

Group I: Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Tripura, Leh & Ladakh.

Group II: Kerala, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir.

Group III: Goa, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland.

Group IV: West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Dadra, Haryana.

Group V: Meghalaya, Odisha, Sikkim, Telangana, Pondicherry, Andaman & Nicobar.

Group VI: Punjab, Manipur, Jharkhand, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep.

Groupings for the 76th Senior Women's NFC:

Group I: Haryana, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Meghalaya, Nagaland.

Group II: Mizoram, Maharashtra, Kerala, Pondicherry, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh.

Group III: Odisha, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura.

Group IV: Jharkhand, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Leh & Ladakh.

Group V: Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Daman & Dadra, Uttar Pradesh, Lakshadweep.

Group VI: Manipur, Assam, Karnataka, Gujarat, Bihar, Andaman & Nicobar.

For more Santosh Trophy news, follow Sportz Point.

West Bengal and Kerala will clash in the finals of the men's football tournament in the National Games 2022. West Bengal reached the final after defeating Services by a solitary goal while Kerala comfortably defeated their southern counterparts Karnataka in the semifinal on Sunday.

Also read: National Games 2022: Services is on the top of the Medal Tally, Kerala and West Bengal will meet in the final

Coached by former India striker Biswajit Bhattacharya, West Bengal reached the final by defeating Services 1-0. Surajit Hansda put Bengal ahead in the first half of the match. That score stood till the end. West Bengal defeated Punjab 2-1 in the first match of the group league. After that, they won against Gujarat by a big margin of 3-1. West Bengal reached the semi-finals by winning two matches in a row, thrashing Karnataka 3-1 in the last match of the group league.

Although, Coach Biswajit Bhattacharya jumped into the National Games 2022 with high hopes of a bunch of bright new talented faces. From the beginning of the tournament, those new faces were perfect for West Bengal. Back-to-back wins from the very beginning of the tournament boosted the confidence of the boys severalfold. The Bengal boys maintained the dominance even in the semi-final match.

In Sunday's semi-final against Services, Bengal took the lead in 25 minutes of the match. Surajit Hansda scored the goal and that goal reached them into the final. The goal of the team is to return from Gujarat to become the champion in the national games 2022.

Also read: National Games 2022 Medal Tally: Services cross 100 medals mark

West Bengal will face Kerala in the final. Kerala defeated Karnataka in the first semi-final. Meanwhile, Surajit, the only goal scorer of the match, got seriously injured during the match. In the second half, he was pushed from behind and was immediately sent off the field. The situation was serious and he was taken to the hospital. His injury before the final has left the entire team worried.

On Monday, September 26, the Reserve Bank Employees Sports Club felicitated with a collection amount of Rupees 8 lakhs to Mr. Damodor Barik, who served the club as a Mali (Gardner) for nearly 25 years. Back on 31st March 2022, Mr. Barik took retirement from his work. So, the club as the association decided to felicitate him for his enormous contribution to the club.

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Mr. Damodar Barik was senior Mali for the RBI Employees Sports Club. The club and the RBI organizations collected an amount of 8 lakhs which also includes the club's donation that was handed over to Mr. Barik. However, the total amount was divided and handed through many senior citizen schemes.

All the RBI employees including Secretary Mr. Samir Ghosh were present at the event. The event was held inside the club premises from 4 PM onwards. Moreover, RBI sports club secretary, Mr. Partha Pratim Roy, and RBI Kolkata Secretary Mr. Srimanta Mitra also attended the event.

Ex-cricketer and Employee Mr. Satyendra Singh were also present on that day. Meanwhile, Abdul Monayem and many ex-footballers like Nasir Ahmed, Falguni Dutta, and many more also attended the event.

Damodar Barik was the Senior Gardner (Mali) of Reserve Bank Employees Sports Club

Mr. Damodar Barik was the Senior Gardner (Mali), who used to organize various programs throughout the year besides his work. He joined on July 1, 1997, as a jr. Gardner. Currently, he is 64 years old. He submitted a letter dated 31st December 2021 seeking voluntary retirement and appealing for lump-sum monetary assistance by which he can earn some amount periodically for his livelihood.

Considering his age and physical condition, Sports Club accepted his resignation letter. Moreover, they relieved him from his service on April 1, 2022.

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In the tune of the golden tradition of standing beside Mali (Gardner) for monetary help, the club decided to the lump-sum amount. They requested their members, players, and retired colleagues to donate spontaneously an appropriate amount. Meanwhile, as a result, they collect around 8 lakhs which was handed over to Mr. Barik on Monday. The sports club and its organization thanked each and every one who donated to the noble cause.