Form points to Manipur but Bengal no pushover

By Our Sports Reporter

GURUSAR SADHAR (LUDHIANA), MAY 26. In the highly competitive world of sports, Indian women's football is yet to learn the meaning of cut-throat contests. The entertaining sea-saw battles are rare and a draw is a respite from the monotony of one-sided matches.

Manipur and Bengal, the finalists in the ninth Senior National women's football championship, are used to such situations. A face-off between the two at the Guru Hargobind Singh Khalsa College ground on Sunday evening should be an entertaining one, given their strength, form and statistics.

Both teams have mastered their opponents with finesse. And, now both are eager to grab the trophy, which they have made it a property of the East.

Of the eight championships held earlier, Manipur has won six times including the last occasion, while Bengal, winners of the inaugural edition in 1993 had also won in 1997.

In the 20-team event, four teams - semifinalists of the last edition - were the direct qualifiers. But, Kerala and Assam, bowed out in the quarterfinal league competition. Maharashtra, Bihar, Orissa and Punjab had made it to the last eight stage from the 16-team preliminary round which started on May 12. Maharashtra and Bihar replaced Assam and Kerala in the last-four line-up compared to last year's championship held in Diphu, Assam.

In the semifinals on Friday, Bengal had it easy against Maharashtra, winning 6-0, while Manipur blanked Bihar 5- 0. Throughout the championship, Manipur has not let in a goal while the Bengal defence has been breached just once. The Punjab team was lucky to score against Bengal in its 4-1 loss in the quarterfinal league.

International Binashori Devi, has stood like a rock under the bar for Manipur, while its strikers and midfielders have made scoring look very easy, notching up 28 goals in four matches. The trio of Sh. Shanti, Th. Tababi and S. Rani, have played havoc with the rival defence with fast moves from both the flanks. R. K. Sulochana, Rani Chanu and O. Bembem Devi form the second line of attack for Manipur and all have come good.

``We will play aggressively right from the start. History is with us and we would like to maintain our tradition of winning,'' said the amiable Manipur coach, K. P. Kabui. ``Bengal has a few star players, but all my players are strong and agile, and raring to go,'' he said.

Bengal, on the other hand, will largely be depending on its playmaker and captain Sujata Kar. Alpana Sheel, Sayanti Nandi, Pushpa Das, Chaitali Kar and Rinku Ghosh have also done well, but only in patches.

The strong point for Bengal this time would also be the experience gained by Sujata and Alpana while playing in the second division German league - the only Indian women footballers to have played for foreign clubs.

The 0-1 loss to Manipur in the Diphu edition is the reminder of a missed chance. Bengal had played well throughout, but could not prevent Manipur from making a hat-trick of titles.

A fourth trophy in a row for Manipur would be a big blow for Bengal, which has put in a good amount of money in the build up of the team through the past year.

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