AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: The 2022-23 season of the Hero Futsal Club Championship kicked off at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 with convincing victories for Delhi FC and Speed Force FC.

Defending champions Delhi FC exhibited an all-round performance in the opening match of the tournament, winning 11-5. K Roluahpuia (3’, 34’), George Dawngliana (31’, 38’), Kashinath Rathod (12’, 39’), and Gwgwmsar Gayary (18’, 34’) scored a brace each for Delhi, while Jojo Zaihmingthanga (17’) and David Laltlansanga (29’) netted two more; Rajanbir Singh (26’) of Bengaluru scored an own goal.

Bengaluru did look strong in periods, especially in the second half, but Delhi kept them at arm’s length till pulling away in the end. Shreyas Ketkar (23’), Satendra Yadav (19’), Ming (34’), Vinith Venkatesh (12’), and Nirmanyu Atri (20’) were the goalscorers for the Blues.

Speed Force FC put 6 past Sports Odisha

A superior first half performance saw Speed Force FC clinch a comprehensive 6-1 win over Sports Odisha in the second match of the day.

The side from Hyderabad went 5-0 up in the first half itself, with Ibrahim Ali netting a hattrick (8’, 11’, 12’). Ahtesham Ali also had a good first half, netting two goals (16’, 18’), before Speed Force changed their tact to containing the opposition on the second phase, which ended with both the sides scoring a goal each – Raisen Tudu (28’) for Sports Odisha and Zubair Bin Sultan (29’) for Speed Force.