Santosh Trophy 2022-23: Punjab vs Meghalaya Highlights

5:15 PM: Hello everyone and welcome to Khel Now’s LIVE COVERAGE of the Punjab vs Meghalaya match in the Santosh Trophy 2022-23. The kick-off is just half an hour away! I’m your host Sathvik Bharadwaj, and I’ll be keeping you company through what promises a fascinating evening of football. Please wait for 30 Seconds for the Live blog to load.

Punjab vs Meghalaya: Build-up

The prestigious trophy named after Maharaja Santosh, that has been coveted by Indian Football’s finest for decades, and has traversed the length and breadth of the country, now finds itself in the unlikeliest of locations – Riyadh Saudi Arabia.

As the sun sets on the eve of the Santosh Trophy, the four sides – Punjab, Meghalaya, Services and Karnataka – prepare for the last hurrah with the Arabian desert in the background. Punjab take on Meghalaya in the first semi-final at the King Fahd International Stadium at 5.30 pm IST.

Punjab head coach Harjinder Singh, himself a former India International, sounded confident, yet cautious ahead of his side’s clash.

“If I analyze Indian Football, I would have to give equal rating to the state teams. I think all the four teams that have qualified for the semi-finals have been lucky to have got here, because the competition in the First Round and the the Final Round was fierce,” said Harjinder.

“I feel that our team has made less mistakes and have put in a great effort to get here. We have a lot of respect for our opponents, but we will play to win.”

Meghalaya captain Fullmoon Mukhin invoked the spirit of the national animal for his boys, saying that they need to play with big hearts.

“We are all thankful to God for giving us this opportunity. It was a big challenge for us to get this far, and it will be an even bigger challenge in the next two matches,” he said. “Once we enter the ground, we should all be like tigers at heart. We need to be brave when we face our opponents, and play our game.”