Three players drew most attention in the Indian Womens League (IWL) 2022, which concluded at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar today. They were Gokulam Kerala FC forwards Elshaddai Acheampong and Manisha Kalyan and Sports Odisha striker Pyari Xaxa.
Ghanaian player Elshaddai bagged the highest scorer of the tournament award with 20 goals to her name. Manisha bagged the Player of the League award and was the second highest scorer with 14 goals. Pyari was the trump card for Sports Odisha and became the third highest scorer with 12 goals.
Gokulam Kerala retained the title, while Sethu FC and Kickstart FC finished scond and third respectively. Of the two teams fielded by host Odisha, Sports Odisha secured fourth position, while Odisha Police finished 10th among 12 teams.
Incidentally, Odisha Police and Sports Odisha had become champions and runners-up respectively in the Odisha Women League earlier this year. But in IWL, leading players of Odisha Police represented Sports Odisha.
FINAL RANKINGS: 1. Gokulam Kerala (33 points), 2. Sethu FC (30), 3. Kickstart FC (27), 4. Sports Odisha (20), 5. Indian Arrows (19), 6. SSB Women FC (16), 7. PIFA Sports FC (14), 8. ARA FC (13), 9. Sirvodem Sports Club (10), 10, Odisha Police (6), 11. Mata Rukmani FC (3), 12. Hans Women FC (3).
RESULTS OF ODISHA TEAMS:
April 16 (At Capital High School Ground): Gokulam Kerala (Manisha Kalyan 17, 26, 33, 45+3, 73; Win Theingi Tun 27, Dangmei Grace 37, Madhusmita Barick 47-OG, Elshaddi Acheampong 62, 86; Sorokhaibam Ranjan Chanu 71, Karishma Purushottam Shirvoikar 77) beat Odisha Police 12-0. PoM: Manisha Kalyan.
April 16 (At Kalinga Stadium): Sports Odisha (Pyari Xaxa 53, 79; Jasoda Munda 90+2) beat ARA FC (Anju 43) 3-1. PoM: Pyari Xaxa (Sports Odisha). PoM: Pyari Xaxa.
April 19 (At OSAP 7th Battalion Ground): Sports Odisha drew with Indian Arrows 0-0. PoM: Sasmita Parida (Sports Odisha).
April 20 (At OSAP 7th Battalion Ground): Odisha Police (Jasmani Samad 84) beat Mata Rukmani FC 1-0. PoM: Jasmani Samad.
April 23 (At Kalinga Stadium): Sports Odisha lost to Kickstart FC (Asem Roja Devi 90) 0-1. PoM: Asem Roja Devi.
April 24 (At OSAP 7th Battalion Ground): Odisha Police (Suman Pragyna Mohapatra 81) lost to ARA FC (Poonam 80, Kiran, 83, Madhubala Alawe 90+2) 1-3. PoM: Kiran.
April 27 (At Capital High School Ground): Odisha Police lost to Indian Arrows (Apurna Narzary 13, 19, 76; Sunita Munda 36) 0-4. PoM: Apurna Narzary.
April 27 (At OSAP 7th Battalion Ground): Sports Odisha (Satyabati Khadia 2, 14; Pyari Xaxa 28, 58, 90+4; Jabamani Tudu 37, Jasoda Munda 59, 63; Deepa Nayak 61) beat Sirvodem SC (Ernestona Tetteh 53) 9-1. PoM: Pyari Xaxa.
May 1 (At Kalinga Stadium): Sports Odisha (Jasoda Munda 16, Subhadra Sahoo 61, 66) beat PIFA Sports FC 3-0. PoM: Subhadra Sahoo.
May 2 (At OSAP 7th Battalion Ground): Kickstart FC (Irom Prameshwori Devi 53, Yangoijam Kiranbala Chanu 55) beat Odisha Police 2-0. PoM: Rajeswari Das (Odisha Police).
May 5 (At Capital High School Ground): Sethu FC (Kioko Elizabeth Katungwa 5, Karthika Angamuthu 6, Durga A 9, 30) beat Sports Odisha 4-0. PoM: Durga A.
May 6 (At Capital High School Ground): Odisha Police (Sarojini Tirkey 18, Shibani Mundari 76) beat Sirvodem SC (Femina Raj Valappil 82) 2-1. PoM: Sarojini Tirkey.
May 8 (At Kalinga Stadium): Sports Odisha (Sumitra Hembram 15, Satyabati Khadia 17, Pyari Xaxa 47, Subhadra Sahoo 58) beat Odisha Police (Sumitra Xalxo 12) 4-1. PoM: Pyari Xaxa.
May 13 (At OSAP 7th Battalion Ground): Sethu FC (Sandhiya Ranganathan 27, Devneta Roy 33, Renu Ranu 67) beat Odisha Police 3-0. PoM: Anju Tamang (Sethu FC).
May 14 (At OSAP 7th Battalion Ground): Sports Odisha (Pyari Xaxa 89) drew with Sashastra Seema Bal Women FC (Sandhya Kachhap 41) 1-1. PoM: Pyari Xaxa.
May 18 (At OSAP 7th Battalion Ground): Sports Odisha (Anita 21-OG, Subhadra Sahoo 39, Supriya Routray 53, 68, 82; Pyari Xaxa 67) beat Hans Women FC 6-0. PoM: Supriya Routray.
May 18 (At Kalinga Stadium): Odisha Police lost to PIFA Sports FC (Nisilia Majaw 64) 0-1. PoM: Karen Pais (PIFA Sports FC).
May 21 (At Capital High School Ground): Odisha Police (Suman Pragyna Mohapatra 6, Lochana Munda 90+7) lost to Sashastra Seema Bal Women FC (Naorem Sumila Chanu 45+1, Dular Marandi 27, 3857, 58) 2-5. PoM: Dular Marandi.
May 22 (At Capital High School Ground): Sports Odisha (Pyari Xaxa 24) lost to Gokulam Kerala FC (Elshaddai Acheampong 5, 23, 78, 87; Manisha Kalyan 45+2, Soumya Guguloth 64, 68) 1-7. PoM: Soumya Guguloth.
May 25 (At Capital High School Ground): Odisha Police (Shibani Mundari 45+1, Karishma Oram 70) lost to Hans Women FC (Vaani Kalucha 4, Jyoti Ann Burrett 89, 90+2) 2-3. PoM: Jyoti Ann Burrett.
May 26 (At OSAP 7th Battalion Ground): Sports Odisha (Deepa Nayak 43, 45+1, 64, 90+4; Pyari Xaxa 45+2, 51, 86) beat Mata Rukmani FC 7-0. PoM: Deepa Nayak.
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PHOTO: Manisha Kalyan of Gokulam Kerala FC receives the Player of IWL award from Odisha Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera in Bhubaneswar on 26 May 2022.