NAGPUR: Giving an end to their nine-year wait, Nagpur men's team emerged champions of the Inter-District Football Tournament organized by the Western India Football Association (WIFA) at Balewadi, Pune, on Tuesday.
In a thrilling final, Nagpur defeated hosts Pune 4-2 in penalties after both the teams were locked 1-1 at the end of regulation time.
The last time Nagpur emerged champion in the WIFA Inter-District tournament was in March 2013 at Amravati.
Both the teams played defensively as a result the first half remained goalless. After the change of ends, Sufiyaan Sheikh made the most of a Javed Akhter cross to draw the first blood for Nagpur in the 65th minute. In the 82nd minute, Nagpur defenders committed a blunder by scoring an own goal as the home team got success in finding the equalizer.
To end the deadlock, tiebreaker was applied where Nagpur strikers Stanley Peter, Sagar Chintala, Sufiyaan Sheikh and Nirmal Munda made most of their spot kicks while Pune found the net twice. Nagpur custodian Owais Khan made some crucial saves to help the team regain the title after a gap of nine years.
The champion team was led by coach Nasir Jamal and Abid Khan was the manager. For the title winning effort, NDFA president Haresh Vora, secretary Iqbal Kashmiri and all members congratulated the team.
Individual awards:
Best player: Sufiyaan Sheikh
Best goalkeeper: Owais Khan
Man-of the- final match: Stanley Peter
Best half: Javed Akhtar
