Mahatma Gandhi University clinch Khelo India Games men's football crown

They defeated University of Kerala by a margin of 2-0.

The football fans from Kerala were given more reasons to smile as two University teams from Kerala faced off against each other in the Khelo India University Games men's football final at the Jain University campus in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Goalkeeper Muhammed Fayiz P, who recorded a clean sheet for Mahatma Gandhi University, couldn't control his emotions after their 2-0 victory over University of Kerala, "This is our Eid Mubarak and we are enjoying this moment. Winning this championship is special for us. The University of Kerala played very well, but we were confident about our abilities and we won the match."

Fayiz also dedicated the team's victory to Ajay Alex and Soyal Joshi, who couldn't play at KIUG as they played for Kerala in the Santosh Trophy, "The athletes played very well for the team. Our Chief Coach couldn't come for this tournament so we would like to dedicate this championship to him. There are two players (Ajay Alex and Soyal Joshi) from our University who were part of the Santosh Trophy-winning Kerala team. We dedicate this victory at the Khelo India University Games to them as well."

The goal scorers in the match - Hari Shankar KS (42') and Arjun V (89') also expressed their excitement after the summit clash. "I am very happy that I scored a goal in the Final. I started playing in an academy and I have been playing football for the last 10 years. We won by a good margin and we expected this performance from our team," said Shankar. 

Arjun added that Mahatma Gandhi University made history at KIUG 2021, "We carried out a firm game and won the match today. We have made history today as this is Mahatma Gandhi University's first trophy in football in an All India competition."

The Head Coach of the Mahatma Gandhi University - Harry Binny expressed his views about the importance of the Khelo India University Games for aspiring football fans, "The Khelo India University Games 2021 is a great platform for those who are aspiring to play professional football in the future. This competition was organized professionally. These kinds of tournaments will help the players to come up through the ranks."

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.