Kalinga Cup: Air India, Southern Samity reach final

The All-India Kalinga Cup football tournament has reached the final stage with the two semifinals played on Sunday and Monday with I-League Division 2 sides Air India and Southern Samity winning their respective matches at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack in the state of Odisha.

The All-India Kalinga Cup football tournament is being jointly organised by the Department of Sports & Y.S. of Government of Odisha and the Football Association of Odisha.

In the first semifinal on Sunday, Air India from Mumbai won 4-3 against Bhowanipore Club from Kolkata in an entertaining encounter. The goals for Air India were scored by Allan Dias (2nd minute), Praveen Sharma (33rd minute), N.D. Opara 57th minute), and Bhushan Thube (84th minute), while Bhowanipore’s scorers were Francis Xavier (62nd, 64th minutes) and Mohammed Shoaib (71′).

There were also two red cards handed out to Baldeep Singh (Air India) and Francis Xavier (Bhowanipore Club) in the 78th minute.

In the second semifinal Southern Samity of Kolkata beat local Cuttack-side Rising Students Club 5-3 on penalties after the match had ended in a one-all draw in regulation time.

The local underdogs went ahead in the 30th minute through a goal from Suresh Kujjur, while Southern Samity equalised only in the 77th minute minute through a Monday Ekuma long-range freekick. The match went into a penalty shootout which Southern Samity won 4-2.

The final will be played on Wednesday, November 13 with Air India taking on Southern Samity in the All-India Kalinga Cup title clash. An interesting match is on the cards.