Odisha to take on Jharkhand in Women's National Football final-round opener

Odisha will take on Jharkhand in the opening fixture of the Senior Women's National Football Championship final round to be held here in Amritsar, Punjab from Wednesday.

Comprising 12 teams divided into two groups, the final round will be played in a single round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the semifinals, which will take place on June 25 and 26 respectively. The final will be played at the GNDU Sports Complex here on June 28.

Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Odisha, Karnataka and Jharkhand are placed in Group A, while Manipur, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Railways, West Bengal and Haryana complete Group B. The 12 teams come into the final round on the back of a thrilling group stage.

Haryana (Group I), Maharashtra (Group II), Himachal Pradesh (Group III), Jharkhand (Group IV), Tamil Nadu (Group V) and Manipur (Group VI) topped their respective groups. Chandigarh (Group II), Karnataka (Group VI), West Bengal (Group V) and Odisha (Group III) advanced to the final round as the four best second-placed teams.

With 11 goals, Anju is currently the top scorer of the tournament, followed by Goa's Karen Estrocio and Karnataka's Maitreyi Palasamudram at eight goals each. Karnataka's Kaviya Pakkirisamy and Kerala's P. Reshma occupy the fourth and fifth spot respectively in the goal-scorers' list.

The final of the previous edition of the championship was held in Kerala where Manipur clinched their third consecutive title, defeating Railways in a penalty shootout. The two sides will face off in the final round on June 19 at the GNDU Sports Complex.

Manipur are a record 21-time champions -- the most titles won by a team since the inception of the competition in 1992. West Bengal follow the Northeast Indian state in second place with two titles to their name. They have also finished runners-up in the championship 13 times and will be looking to lift the trophy for the first time since 1997.