Odisha suffered second defeat in the Final Round of the 78th Senior Men National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy, losing to 2021-22 champions Kerala in their third Group-B match at Deccan Area in Hyderabad, Telangana today.

The defeat pushed Odisha down to fourth place with three points in the group table. Earlier in their first two matches, Odisha lost to Delhi 0-2 and beat Goa 2-0. Odisha will next meet Tamil Nadu on December 22.

Arpan Lakra is leading a 22-member Odisha team with Akshay Das as head coach. Odisha qualified for the final round after emerging Group-F toppers in the first-phase competition, which was held in Amritsar, Punjab.

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).
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PHOTO: Odisha striker Kartik Hantal.