Officers XI beaten 3-1 on penalties after absorbing final; CM Mohan Charan Majhi hails sporting camaraderie

 

THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

BHUBANESWAR, SEPTEMBER 26, 2026

Media XI held their nerve in a tense penalty shootout to defeat Officers XI 3-1 and lift the 16th Tata Steel Friendship Cup Football Tournament 2026 at the Kalinga Stadium here on Saturday.

After a breathtaking full-time contest, the title was decided from the spot, with Media XI, led by Sandeep Mishra, Editor, odishabytes, emerging champions and Officers XI, captained by Saswata Mishra, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, Odisha, finishing runners-up.

The tournament, formally inaugurated by Prakhash Mishra, Advisor to the Odisha Chief Minister, featured four teams — Tata Steel XI, Leaders XI, Officers XI and Media XI. Tata Steel XI was led by Vineet Tripathy, Chief O&M, NINL, while Leaders XI was jointly led by Rabi Naik, Minister of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, Odisha, and Arun Sahu, MLA, BJD.

The final was witnessed by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and a host of ministers, legislators, senior bureaucrats, Tata Steel officials and media personalities.

Chief Minister Majhi congratulated all the teams for their enthusiasm and sportsmanship and praised the tournament as an initiative that brought different sections of society together.

 “Such friendly sporting events bring people together and strengthen the bond between the Government, administration, media and Tata Steel. Grateful to Tata Steel for organising this wonderful initiative towards a healthier Odisha,” he said.

The individual awards reflected the competitive nature of the tournament. Rishabh Parekh of Media XI was adjudged the Highest Scorer, while Niranjan Reddy, also of Media XI, was named Best Goalkeeper. Sumit Muduli (Media XI) won the Best Defence award.

J.D. Pati was named Best Forward, while Ramaswamy of Officers XI received the Best Half award. Officers XI skipper Saswata Mishra was adjudged Best All-rounder.

The Sports Lover Award went to MLA Upasana Mohapatra, while Dr. Arun Sahoo of Leaders XI received the Fair Play Trophy.

The Man of the Match honours were shared among the teams. Dhiman Chakma of Officers XI received the award in the opening match against Tata Steel XI. Bibhuti Biswal of Media XI was adjudged Man of the Match in the second game against Leaders XI, while Ramesh Hansdah of Officers XI received the honour in the final against Media XI.

Among the dignitaries present were Mukesh Mahaling, Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Health and Family Welfare, Parliamentary Affairs; Rabi Narayan Naik, Minister of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development; Suryabanshi Suraj, Minister of Odia Language, Literature & Culture, Higher Education, Sports & Youth Services; Sampad Chandra Swain, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Industries and Minister of State (Independent Charge), Skill Development & Technical Education; and Pradeep Bal Samanta, Minister for Cooperation, Handloom and Textiles.

Also present were Bhupendra Singh Poonia, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Sports & Youth Services Department and Skill Development and Technical Education Department; Amitabh Thakur, Transport Commissioner-cum-Chairman, State Transport Authority; and D.B. Sundara Ramam, Vice-President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel.

The event also brought together a distinguished gathering from Odisha's media fraternity, including Tathagata Satpathy, Editor, Dharitri and Orissa Post; Tanaya Pattnaik, Editor, Sambad and Executive Director, Sambad Group; K Ravi, Resident Editor, The Statesman; Soumyajit Pattnaik, Editor, Kalinga TV; Navin Das, Editor, Nirbhaya; Arabinda Mishra, Bureau Chief, PTI; Radhamadav Mishra, News Editor, OTV; Dillip Bisoi, Editor, India Whispers; Malaya Nayak, News Editor, Samaya; Md. Suffian, Special Correspondent (Video), PTI; Sujit Bisoyi, State Correspondent, Indian Express; Debanarayan Sethi, News Editor, News 7; Gopal Krushna Mohapatra, Editor, Prameya; Debi Prasanna Pattnaik, Bureau Chief, UNI; Manoranjan Mishra, Editor, Newsroom; Devnarayan Sethi; Suresh Swain, Sports Editor, Sambad; Akshaya Sahoo, Special Correspondent, Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle; Seshnath Rai, Bureau Head, Dainik Jagran; Hemant Tiwari, News Editor, Navbharat; Priyabrat Biswal, Editor, thebusinessbytes.com; and Sudhir Panda, Editor, Pratidin, among others.