AG Telangana rewrite football glory

Hyderabad: This year’s edition of IA & AD Inter-zonal football tournament that was held at Shillong marked a watershed outing for AG, Telangana as it emulated a feat that dates back to three decades.

In a major turnaround in the football fortunes of the State, which remain obscure at every level, the Accountant General Office team from Telangana, led by stopper-back PD Emmanuel, proved its worth by finishing at an envious runner-up position after losing the championship clash to AG, Punjab via the tie-breaker.

According to the players, a major credit for the impressive showing and the confidence levels that were imbibed among the players should go to Mohd Afzal Wahab Ansari, whose relentless pursuit paid handspoe dividends at a such a big stage.

Ansari stated that it was a collective team effort that bore results. All that the talented bunch needed was a bit of fine-tuning, which he did and the boys delivered with aplomb.

Meanwhile, AG Telangana defeated AG, Gwalior 4-1 in the quarterfinals while they downed AG Meghalaya via the tie-breaker after regulation
time 2-all.

AG Telangana squad: Raji Naidu, Tatam Naidu, Emmanuel (Capt), Khaleel, Md Nizamuddin, Faisal Bin Osman, AR Naidu, Md Rafeeq, Murtuza Hussain, Joshua, Moazzam, Krishna Reddy, Ravinder, Prabhu, Ismail, lqbaI, Venkat; Coach: Md Abdul Wahab Ansari; Manager: Manibushan.