Punjab vs Meghalaya for football gold

CHENNAI: Football Punjab has taken a step closer to the gold as it defeated Odisha 1-0 to qualify for the final of the men’s football in the 6th Khelo India Youth Games 2023 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Monday.

Punjab, led by Umar Farooq, had a tight game against Odisha in the semi-final. Punjab scored the only goal of the match in the first half with youngsters in the crowd cheering them on.

Umar Farooq is playing his second Khelo India Youth Games this year and is extremely happy with the team’s performance and confident about the team’s chances against Meghalaya in the final on Wednesday.

“It’s a nice feeling qualifying for the finals; the team has worked hard to get to where we are. As a team, we are very confident going into the final, and after managing to get bronze last year, this time we want to get that gold medal,” said Umar Farooq, speaking to DT Next after the match.

“We played against Meghalaya in group stage and lost. We are familiar with their style of play now and we hope to win the final,” said Pradeep Kumar, head coach - football Punjab.