Football

In a thrilling semifinal clash of the 77th National Football Championships for the Santosh Trophy, Services held off a late surge from Mizoram to secure a narrow 2-1 victory.Services, a six-time champion, dominated the proceedings from the outset, controlling possession and creating several scoring opportunities. In the 21st minute, left-back Subham Rana set up Rahul Ramakrishnan with a sharp cross, which the latter converted with a left-footed drive to give Services the lead.After the break, Services continued to press forward and doubled their advantage in the 83rd minute. Substitute Bikash Thapa pounced on a back-pass that Mizoram goalkeeper F. Lalmuanawma failed to control and slotted home the insurance goal.Mizoram, however, refused to go down without a fight. Substitute Malsawmfela, introduced in the 71st minute, caused problems for Services with his physical play. In injury time, Malsawmfela pulled one back for Mizoram with a free-kick, setting up a tense finish.Despite losing defender Zothanpuia to a red card in the 88th minute, Services held on to their lead, with goalkeeper Shafeel P.P. making a crucial save in the dying seconds to deny Malsawmfela an equalizer.The victory sends Services to their 12th final in the tournament's history, where they will face the winner of the other semifinal between Kerala and Punjab.

The 77th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy is set to commence on Wednesday at the Golden Jubilee Stadium near Arunachal Pradesh's capital Itanagar. Defending champion Karnataka will lead the challenge in the final round, joined by 11 other teams divided into two groups of six each.The group stage qualifiers produced nine teams, while host Arunachal Pradesh and last year's finalists Karnataka and Meghalaya received automatic qualification. The addition of quarterfinals to the knock-out phase adds an extra layer of excitement, with the top four teams from each group advancing.The two groups appear evenly matched, with Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Goa, Assam, Services, and Kerala in Group A. Group B consists of holder Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Manipur, Railways, and Mizoram. Notably, traditional powerhouses Bengal (32-time champion) and Punjab (eight-time winner) failed to make it to the final round.The opening day of the tournament features three matches. Meghalaya will face Services in the morning session, followed by Kerala's clash with Assam in the afternoon. The evening session will witness host Arunachal Pradesh taking on a formidable Goa side.The group stage will conclude on March 2, followed by the quarterfinals on March 4 and 5. The semifinals are scheduled for March 7, leading up to the grand finale on March 9.