~Cuttack emerged champions in men’s category, Kendrapara clinched the title in women’s category ~
~ Champions in men’s and women’s category awarded Rs 2 lakh each ~
Bhubaneswar, 12 February 2024: Nua-O State Football tournament, organized by the Sports and Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha, concluded in Bhubaneswar on Monday. Twelve days of football culminated with Cuttack taking home the trophy in the men’s category while Kendrapara reigned supreme in the women’s category. Hon’ble Sports Minister Sh. Tusharkanti Behera graced the prize distribution and handed out the awards along Hon’ble MLA, Bhubaneswar (Central) Ananta Narayan Jena, Honorary Secretary, FAO, Shri Asirbad Behera, Sports Director, Shri Siddhartha Das, Club President, Odisha FC, Mr. Raj Athawal, Mr. Rohan Sharma, and other officials of DSYS.
In the women’s category, Kendrapara emerged as the champions of the tournament with a win over Sundargarh , following a thrilling penalty shootout. Jajpur and Jharsuguda secured third place and fourth place respectively. Furthermore, Sarojini Tirkey from the Sundargarh team was awarded as the most outstanding player.
In the men’s category, Cuttack defeated Khordha 3-0 in the final to secure the title. Meanwhile Sundargarh finished third and Kandhamal finished fourth. Cuttack’s Bikash Kumar Sahoo received the accolade of the most outstanding player.
In keeping with Odisha’s mandate of incentivizing and encouraging athletic success, champions in each category were awarded Rs 2 lakh, runners-up were given Rs 1 lakh, while Rs 50,000 each were given to the third and fourth place team. The most outstanding player award came with a cash prize of Rs 10,000.
As many as 30 teams had taken part in the competition that began with the block level and then proceeded to the district and state level. The tournament was conceptualized as part of the Nua Odisha initiative that endeavors to engage youth across the state through the mediums of sports and arts. The tournament not only provided players with the opportunity to showcase their skills in Bhubaneswar’s state-of-the-art facilities but also served as a platform for talent identification
Notably, the Nua Odisha initiative also features hockey, cricket, kho-kho, volleyball and kabaddi.
