East Bengal women defend IWL title in style

Kolkata: East Bengal women defended their IWL crown in style, beating Nita FA 2-0 on Tuesday to seal the deal with two rounds to go. Hours before the match at the East Bengal ground, Anthony Andrews' holders were assured of the title when nearest rivals Sethu FC dropped points in a 1-1 draw against Sesa FA. That result left East Bengal with an insurmountable lead of 30 points from 11 matches as Sethu FC remained struck in the second place with 23 points having two more matches to play. East Bengal celebrated the occasion by defeating Nita FA thanks to a brace from Soumya Guguloth and extending their points tally to 33 points. East Bengal thus became the second team to defend the IWL title after Gokulam Kerala, who won a hat-trick of titles between 2019 and 2023. The triumph also handed the Moshal Girls' another chance to represent India in the AFC Women's Champions League football next season.