Cuttack emerged champions in the 53rd Sahani Cup Senior Inter-District Football Tournament with a narrow 1-0 win over Balasore in the hard-fought at Nabarangpur today. After a barren first half, mercurial forward Lala Sudhansu Sekhar Ray scored the all-important goal in the 71st minute.
Earlier in the semifinals, Cuttack edged out Sundargarh 5-4 in penalty shoot out, while Balasore edged out Angul 1-0 with Antu Murmu scoring the match winner in the 37th minute.