A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
A late goal by Ndubuisi Opara helped Air India hold Salgaocar to a 1-1 draw in their Round 22 I-League match at the Nehru stadium in Margao on Friday. Salgaocar, who held territorial advantage in the first half, scored through Ekene Ikenwa.
Mohun Bagan's Moroccan coach Karim Bencherifa stepped down on Thursday following the club's ongoing poor performance in the I-League this season. Former Mohun Bagan midfielder Satyajit Chatterjee was named the team's coach for the remainder of the season.
I-League champions Dempo Sports Club of Goa are close to signing a deal with an unnamed English football club for acquiring technical knowhow as well as ideas on how to market the game and run the entity profitably.
Shillong's Lajong Football Club continued their giant killing spree as they shocked I-League champions Churchill Brothers 1-0 to book their maiden final berth in the Federation Cup football tournament in Guwahati.
Newly-crowned champions Dempo played out a 1-1 draw against Pune FC in their final round encounter of the I-League, at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa, on Thursday. Dempo, who had already clinched the title, thus finished their league engagement with a tally to 54 points from 26 matches.
Mahindra United bowed out of professional football in style, defeating JCT 2-1 in their concluding I-League encounter at the Cooperage ground in Mumbai on Thursday.
Substitute Vimal Pariyar's injury-time goal helped reigning champions Churchill Brothers, Goa, escape defeat and hold a spirited Viva Kerala to a 1-1 draw in thier ONGC I-League football match in Kozhikode on Thursday.
Churchill Brothers put up a spirited fight before crashing out of the AFC Cup after losing 1-2 to Kuwaiti powerhouse Al Qadsia in the single-leg pre-quarterfinal match in Kuwait City.
With his team winning the I-League title for the fourth time, Dempo Sports Club coach Armando Colaco said what makes his team unique was the 'warmth and affection' shared by the players.
Salgaocar hung on to a first-half goal to edge past Mumbai FC 1-0 in a 24th round I-league encounter at the Nehru stadium, in Margao, Goa, on Thursday.
Sporting Clube de Goa fought back strongly in the second half to beat Mahindra United 3-2 and kept their hopes of avoiding relegation alive in a round 24 I-League match at Nehru Stadium in Margao on Tuesday.
Whoever is in charge of and is interested in building a fan base for football in India, should concentrate primarily on getting more people to actually play.
The All India Football Federation on Sunday suspended Mahesh Gawli and Sameer Naik for missing a national camp on a direction from their I-League club Dempo. Their fate will be decided by a disciplinary committee before the start of the Federation Cup next month.
Sunil Chettri scored a splendid brace as Dempo Sports Club registered a 3-1 victory over Mohun Bagan in a round 13 I-League match at the Nehru stadium in Fatorda, Goa, on Tuesday.
Sporting Clube de Goa kept their hopes of avoiding relegation alive when they got the better of JCT by a solitary goal in a 20th round I-League match at the Nehru Stadium, in Margao, Goa, on Wednesday. The home side, which had more of the exchanges and scoring opportunities, scored the all-important goal in the 33rd minute through Bisheshwor Singh.
The 'sleeping giant' woke up to a new dawn with the Indian Super League putting Indian football on the global map, but the national team continued to paint a grim picture, plummeting to its worst-ever rankings in an eventful year for the sport.
Churchill Brothers midfielder Ogba Kalu Nnanna was injured when a missile hurled by an irate Mohun Bagan fan hit him as mayhem broke out at the Vidyasagar Krirangan after Friday's I-League match in Basarat. Minutes after Churchill held Bagan to a 2-2 draw, furious Bagan supporters hurled bricks and bottles and abused the Churchill players.
Dempo brushed aside Mumbai Football Club challenge to score a deserving 3-2 win to maintain their top position in the 14th round of the I-League, played at Nehru stadium in Margao on Thursday.
Influential skipper Sunil Chhetri has been ruled out of India's World Cup qualifier against Iran owing to a groin injury, dealing a body blow to the beleaguered outfit's prospects of putting up a fight. The match for Russia 2018 World Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 is slated to be played in Tehran on Thursday. A 22-member team on Monday left for the forthcoming game. Six players from the list of 28 probables, including injured striker Chhetri, didn't travel with the squad. "We had to take some bold decisions and we have to travel to Tehran without our influential captain Sunil Chhetri," national coach Stephen Constantine said. "He will be badly missed." Chhetri has been ruled out following a groin injury which he had picked up in the I-League.
I-League champions Churchill Brothers maintained their intimidating form in the season as they beat Dempo 2-1 to storm into the Durand Cup football final, on Saturday.
Mohammedan Sporting and Air India held Churchill Brothers and Senegal's AS Douanes respectively to draws to remain in contention for a semi-final berth in the 114th IFA Shield football tournament in Kolkata on Wednesday.
A spirited Viva Kerala ended Mumbai FC's 10-match unbeaten run with a narrow 1-0 victory over the hosts in a round 13 I-League match in Mumbai on Wednesday. K P Anish scored the all-important goal in the 43rd minute to help the visitors register their first away victory of the season.
Dempo played out a goalless draw with East Bengal in a 12th round match of the I-League, at the Nehru stadium, in Margao, Goa, on Friday.
Viva Kerala put up a spirited display against Mahindra United to earn a 1-1 draw in a seventh round I-League encounter at the Cooperage in Mumbai on Friday. Wisoot Bunpeng (29th minute) and Mohammad Rafi (54th) were the scorers for Viva Kerala and Mahindra United respectively.
Lajong's poor run at the Cooperage ground continued as they suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of hosts Mumbai Football Club in the round 11 I-League match in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Brazilian striker Edmilson nicely converted a free-kick to help Chirag United come from behind and hold Dempo 1-1 in their 10th round match of I-League football tournament at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Mumbai FC beat last year's runners-up Mohun Bagan 2-1 to register their first I-League victory in a sixth round floodlit match at Vidyasagar Krirangan in Kolkata on Monday.
Coach Bob Houghton feels defending champions India will be the team to beat in the Nehru Cup football tournament which gets underway in Delhi on August 19.
High on confidence, Chirag United would seek to keep their winning momentum going when they meet depleted Sporting Clube De Goa on Monday at Nehru stadium, Margao, in the sixth round match of the I-League.
After a 5-3 drubbing against arch-rivals Mohun Bagan, East Bengal coach Subhash Bhowmick said he should quit the job taking moral responsibility of the defeat.
Two freak goals enabled hosts Mumbai FC defeat Salgaocar 2-1 in a round nine match of the ONGC I-League at the Cooperage in Mumbai on Friday.
Odafe Onyeka Okolie did not let off-field issues bog him down and struck twice to script Churchill Brothers' 2-2 draw against Mohun Bagan in the round nine I-League encounter at Vidyasagar Krirangan in Kolkata on Friday. The Nigerian striker, who was arrested with two others on charges of molestation on board a flight to Kolkata, scored twice to negate the two-goal effort of Jose Ramirez Barreto of Mohun Bagan and walk away with the Man of the Match award.
Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has launched a scathing attack on the club's manager Arsene Wenger, saying he could not make a case for the Frenchman to extend his reign beyond this season.
Mumbai Football Club (MFC) wants to put behind their two losses and vows to snatch a point against defending champion Churchill Bros when they meet them at Nehru stadium, Margao in the third round of the I-League on Friday.
JSW Steel chairman Sajjan Jindal confirmed that his group is acquiring an IPL side.
Defending champion Churchill Brothers today defeated Viva Kerala 2-0 in the second round of the third edition of the I-league football at Tilak Ground, Vasco.
Stephen Constantine said he has accepted the contract extension offered to him by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), which will make him the longest serving national coach in the history of the sport.
A top official of the AIFF has questioned how the Executive Committee's decision to endorse a legal opinion to speed up a decision on the issue had been changed and an arbitrator appointed instead.
Check out the Bollywood stars' presence in the cash rich ISL.
