A praise-worthy campaign came to a sad end as Odisha bowed out of the 78th Senior Men National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy (Final Round), losing to 32-time champions West Bengal 1-3 in the first quarterfinal at Deccan Area in Hyderabad, Telangana today.

It was a heart-breaking exit for Odisha because they led 1-0 till the end of regulation time in the first half with Rakesh Oram giving them a stunning lead through a header off a corner by Bikash Kumar Sahoo in the 25th minute.

But after Narohari Shrestha equalized seconds before the lemon break, West Bengal bounced back to win the match and enter the semifinals for the 52nd time. However, by reaching quarterfinals Odisha qualified for the National Games 2026.

Odisha secured the last-eight berth by finishing fourth in Group-B with five points from as many games. They beat Goa, lost to Delhi and Kerala, and drew with Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya. Arpan Lakra led the 22-member Odisha team with Akshay Das as head coach.

ODISHA SENIOR MEN FOOTBALL TEAM: Goalkeepers: Sanjay Hembram, Siddhanta Padhan, Rahul Oram. Defenders: Abhinash Muduli, Ashok Bag, Bisal Tigga, Mahesh Hansda, Srikanta Bhoi, Rakesh Oram, Wangdan Lama. Mid-fielders: Bikash Kumar Sahoo, Arpan Lakra (Captain), Chandra Mohan Murmu, Rakesh Kumar Sahoo, Jansan Bandra. Forwards: Prakash Naik, Roshan Panna, Arbin Lakra, Kartik Hantal, Dinabandhu Das, Jitu Muduli, Rahul Mukhi.
Team Staff: Akshya Das (Head Coach), Mahabir Nath & Abani Mohan Mohanty (both Assistant Coach), Biswa Ranjan Gharei (Manager), Prabhupada Prasad (Physio).

ODISHA RESULTS:

15 Dec 2024: Odisha lost to Delhi (Jaideep Singh 8, Rohmingthanga 43) 0-2.
17 Dec 2024: Odisha (Rahul Mukhi 60, Kartik Hantal 65) beat Goa 2-0. PoM: Kartik Hantal.
19 Dec 2024: Odisha lost to Kerala (Muhammad Ajsal 41, Naseeb Rahman 54) 0-2. PoM: Sanju G (Kerala).
22 Dec 2024: Odisha (Rahul Mukhi 75) drew with Tamil Nadu (Alexander Romario Jesuraj 68-P) 1-1. PoM: ?
24 Dec 2024: Odisha drew with Meghalaya 0-0. PoM: ?
26 Dec 2024 (Quarterfinal): Odisha (Rakesh Oram 25) lost to West Bengal (Narohari Shrestha 45+2, Robi Hansda 77, Monotos Maji 90+2) 1-3. PoM: Narohari Shrestha.