Diu [India], May 24 : The beach soccer finals of the 2025 Khelo India Beach Games (KIBG) were nothing short of spectacles, if truth be told. Played under lights side by side at the beautiful Ghoghla Beach in Diu in front of hundreds of loud spectators, both the matches in the men's and women's categories proved to be worthy of being finals.
However, the contests kicked off in a contrasting manner. Odisha women looked to run away with two early goals against Gujarat women, who appeared to have the support of local spectators, a large part of the crowd which also was dancing to the Garba and Bollywood tunes in the company of Pearls - dolphins -- mascots for the Games. To all intents and purposes, it was a carnival-like atmosphere.
Kerala and Goa, on the other hand, were slogging it out in the men's final. It was competitive, to say the least. Kerala looked a slightly better team in the initial exchanges, but as the match wore on, they stamped their authority in a grand fashion. After the first period ended at 2-1 in their favour, Kerala upped the ante in the next and in the blink of an eye ran away to a 10-3 lead to put it beyond their Goan rivals.
Kerala went on to win the contest 12-4 to clinch the gold. Muhseer Tkb and Rohith Yesudas scored four and three goals each, respectively. Kerala demonstrated how to play like a team. There wasn't a single player who didn't contribute in their own way, small or big.
On the other arena, just when Odisha women looked on their way to a comfortable win, Gujarat, against all expectations, staged an extraordinary comeback. In the third and final period, with Gujarat trailing 3-0, Shaikh Naaz breathed a lot of life into the match by scoring a brace in less than a minute and making it 3-2. Bhumisha Dravid then had a great chance to make it 3-3 in the dying moments of the match, but to the disappointment of a large part of the crowd, she couldn't finish it.
At the sound of the final whistle, Odisha were still leading 3-2, and thus they sealed the gold medal. They had concocted the squad under coach Gitanjali Khuntia only a couple of weeks before the Khelo India Beach Games 2025, and boy was it all worth it! Captain Jasoda Munda, who led her troops with great aplomb with two goals, was ecstatic after guiding Odisha to their first gold of the 2025 Khelo India Beach Games.
"It's a moment of great pride for us to win our first gold here. In the match, we started well, but then the opponents figured out our positions and marked us very well. It was a close affair," said Jasoda.
Kerala coach Aji Raj was also thrilled for his team. "Leading up to the Beach Games, we practised only five days. This bunch has been playing together since 2021, so there is a lot of understanding between them. Last month, they won the National Championship in Delhi. It was a great effort from the boys; they all played like a team," he said.
Beach Soccer results:
Men: Gold: Kerala, Silver: Goa, Bronze: Lakshadweep and Maharashtra
Women: Gold: Odisha, Silver: Gujarat, Bronze: Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.