Hyderabad: Jammu and Kashmir secured their spot in the quarterfinals of the 78th Senior National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Rajasthan at Deccan Arena, on Monday.
The northernmost team sealed a top-four finish in Group A, ending the group stage with seven points from five matches. Adnan Ayub’s 74th-minute strike was the difference, ensuring they took all three points in a match where they looked relatively comfortable. Rajasthan, on the other hand, needed a win and hoped for a Manipur victory against Telangana to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive, but their efforts fell short.
In the other match, Manipur triumphed 3-1 over hosts Telangana to confirm their second-place finish in the group, with 11 points from five matches. Manipur took the lead early through Kangabam Lanngama Singh’s 16th-minute goal, but Telangana responded in the 40th minute through Syed Imtiyaz Ahmed. However, in the second half, Manipur proved too strong, with Khullakpam Zahir Khan scoring in the 85th minute and Shoraisham Sagar Singh adding another two minutes later to seal the win and send Manipur through to the knockout stages.
Results: Jammu & Kashmir 1 (Adnan Ayub 74’) bt Rajasthan 0, Manipur 3 (Kangabam Lanngama Singh 16’, Khullakpam Zahir Khan 85’, Shoraisham Sagar Singh 87’) bt Telangana 1 (Syed Imtiyaz Ahmed 40’).
