Manipur won the senior women’s National Football Championship for a record 18th time after beating Railways 3-1 in the final in Jalandhar, Punjab.
Such is the utter dominance of the women from the Northeast in the competition that they have failed to make the final (2011) only once in the 22 times that it has been held. Last year, Manipur had lost to Railways 4-3 on penalties and they avenged their loss in style this year.
They managed to win the tournament 13 straight times between 1997 and 2010.
Bala Devi bagged a brace and Dangmei Grace scored the other while Railways mustered a reply through Sabita. Manipur had beaten Odisha 2-1 while Railways beat Haryana 4-1 in the semifinals earlier.
The winners had earlier bagged 32 goals in their five games prior to the semis, without conceding a single goal. Manipur had trounced Tamil Nadu and Delhi by identical 5-0 margins while pumping in nine goals against both Karnataka and Haryana. Goa were defeated 18 times.
Senior Women’s National Football Championship roll of honours
Manipur: 18 titles, 3 X runners-up
West Bengal: 2 titles, 13 X runners-up
Odisha: 1 title, 4 X runners-up
Railways: 1 title, 1 X runners-up
Kerala: 1 X runners-up
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