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| J&K enters quarterfinals of Santosh Trophy | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | June 1
Sailing on superb performance from two internationals, young Ishfaq Ahmed and experienced Arun Malhotra, hosts Jammu and Kashmir today made it into the quarterfinals round after a gap of 20 years in the ongoing 62nd National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy.
Jammu and Kashmir repeated their last year’s performance against Delhi beating latter in the pre-quarterfinals today at Bakshi Stadium, Srinagar. In the 61st edition of the Santosh Trophy held at Haryana, J&K had defeated Delhi 3-0 in the league round but could not make it into the next round.
Ishfaq Ahmed, who scored five goals against Himachal Pradesh in their last league tie at the same venue, today scored two goals, including the opener in the ninth minute. Ishfaq’s second goal came in the 87th minutes. Asif and Rizwan scored other two goals each in the 30th and 89th minute of the match respectively.
Loser Delhi too got a couple of chances in the first half but failed to convert them into goals.
As per a senior member of Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA), the last time Jammu and Kashmir entered the quarterfinals of Santosh Trophy was in 1988 at Kerela.
“The presence of Ishfaq has really boosted the moral of the team. The team is upbeat to
take on the opponents in the quarterfinals league round. Today’s big win has really strengthen the resolve of the boys to create history by making it into the semi-finals of the prestigious Santosh Trophy,” Arun Malhotra told Sports & Allied News.
“No doubt the teams playing in the quarterfinals are of high quality and better than us but we are aiming at keeping on consistency in the performance. The matches in the next league round will be live telecast and would be observed by the selectors from top clubs of the country. So, it will be an opportunity for the state players to show their talent and get selected for the prestigious professional clubs,” Arun said. |
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