Football
Abbas Ali Baig finds equalizer for Telangana against Gujarat; Mizoram book QFs berth
Mirza Abbas Ali Baig struck in injury time to salvage a draw for Telangana against Gujarat in an exciting 3-3 verdict in the Swami Vivekananda Under-20 men’s National Football Championship at the RKM Ground 1 in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh.
Telangana and Gujarat, both of whom are ruled out of progression with a game to spare in the tournament, played out another exciting game of football. Gujarat were off the blocks quickly as the swamped the Telangana defence. They were richly rewarded as Arihant Rajpurohit struck in the ninth minute of play and three minutes later Mikhail Fernandes made it 2-0 in favour of Gujarat. Manvendrasinh Sarvaiya made it 3-0 in the 17th minute as Gujarat were in full control of the proceedings.
Abbas scores a brace for Telangana
Telangana got one back in the 24th minute when Mirza Abbas Ali Baig, who had scored five goals in an earlier match, struck. Jaydev Sharma further reduced the margin when he scored in the 39th minute. The teams went into the break with Gujarat leading 3-2.
Five-star Mirza Abbas Ali Baig goes on a rampage as Telangana rout Pondicherry 5-0
After the break, Telangana pressed for the equalizer but were unable to breach the Gujarat citadel. Abbas found the equalizer in the injury time to help Telangana draw parity.
Mizoram down Uttar Pradesh 6-1
Meanwhile, Mizoram sealed their quarterfinal berth from Group G by defeating Uttar Pradesh 6-1. Needing only a draw to make the last eight, Mizoram started off well, as Mesak C Lalrinngheta converted an early penalty. That, however, was to be cancelled out by a 48th-minute strike by Uttar Pradesh’s Shahvez.
The northeastern side turned the heat up after the equaliser, as Vanlalramnghaka scored a second half hat-trick, while Eddi Lalhmangaihzuala and C Lalkhawgaiha netted one each. Mizoram finish top of the group with three wins from as many matches, followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, respectively.
A tense contest ensued in the other Group G match on Ground 2 at the RKM Ashrama, as Madhya Pradesh held Arunachal Pradesh 3-3. Both sides, however, were already out of contention for a quarterfinal spot.
SAI thrash Pondicherry 14-0
Over in Group F, things were already decided with SAI having sealed the top spot, and progression to the quarterfinals, with a game to spare. However, they continued much in the same vein in their last group stage game against Pondicherry, winning by a massive 14-0 margin on Ground 1 at the RKM Ashrama.
Results: Telangana 3 (Mirza Abbas Ali Baig 24’, 90+1’, Jaydev Sharma 39’) drew with Gujarat 3 (Arihant Rajpurohit 9’, Mikhail Fernandes 12’, Manvendrasinh Sarvaiya 17’).
Telangana football coach Zakeer Hussain
Uttar Pradesh 1 (Shahvez 48’) lost to Mizoram 6 (Mesak C Lalrinngheta 25’ p, Vanlalramnghaka 50’, 81’, 90’, Eddi Lalhmangaihzuala 62’, C Lalkhawngaiha 86’).
Madhya Pradesh 3 (Rohit Malviya 15’, Domendra Kumar Taram 60’, Alpesh Sharma 90+1’) drew with Arunachal Pradesh 3 (Jayash Sharma 10’ og, Kalen Mize 22’, Hanu Tari 90’ p).
Pondicherry 0 lost to SAI 14 (Ashad M 5’, 44’, Vishal SM 15’, Pangai Konyak 23’, 58’, Jebin J 45+3’, 61’, Chanambam Mangal Singh 55’, 82’, Devarsh S 63’, Aditya Chetry 69’, 90+1’, Ningthoujam Bidyachandra Meetei 71’, Keisam Bashkar Meetei 81’).
Telangana’s Zakeer Hussain appointed as Scout
In a related development, Zakeer Hussain, a football coach from Telangana, has been appointed as a Scout for the ongoing Swami Vivekananda Under-20 Men’s National Football Championship 2026 in Chhattisgarh.