Manipur retain Dr BC Roy Trophy with 3-1 win over Bengal

Defending champions Manipur retained the Junior Boys’ National Football Championship for Dr BC Roy Trophy with a 3-1 victory over West Bengal in Bengaluru. Jogesh, Jenson and Muskan scored for Manipur, who secured their third title and successfully defended the crown

Hyderabad: Defending champions Manipur retained the Junior Boys’ National Football Championship for Dr BC Roy Trophy 2026-27 with a clinical 3-1 victory over West Bengal in the Tier 1 final at the Bengaluru Football Stadium on Wednesday.

Jogesh put Manipur ahead in the 26th minute and Jenson doubled the lead in the 39th. Muskan provided further insurance two minutes before the final whistle, while Debraj Das reduced the deficit for West Bengal by converting a penalty.

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The final was a repeat of last year’s title clash, when Manipur defeated West Bengal 3-0 in Amritsar. It was also a repeat of the 1999-2000 tournament final held in Bengaluru, which Manipur won with a sudden-death extra-time goal.

With this triumph, Manipur have now won the title three times. They also became the first team since Mizoram in 2019-20 to successfully defend the crown.

Manipur dominated most of the first half, trading passes effectively, moving into vacant spaces and applying sustained pressure on the West Bengal defence. However, some of their forward passes were struck too long and hard for the attackers to reach.

The combination of Siroi Khwairakpam and Pravin Warepam on the right caused most of the problems for West Bengal. With defender Lamyanba Oinam producing a compact display, the West Bengal attack struggled and could barely manage a shot on goal throughout the first half.

Skipper Jogesh put Manipur ahead in the 26th minute with a perfectly struck free-kick from just outside the West Bengal box. The ball flew past the diving goalkeeper Arpan Mitra and into the middle of the net.

Thiyam Jenson Meitei made it 2-0 in the 39th minute when he surged down the left, changed the direction of his run and unleashed a powerful right-footed shot from the edge of the box that flew past Arpan.

West Bengal reduced the margin five minutes after the resumption. Manipur wing-back Lanchenba Khwairakpam brought down Ayush Rajak, and skipper Debraj Das converted the resultant penalty, sending the ball into the right corner.

West Bengal did come more into the attacking picture in the second half, but the Manipur defence held firm.

Latching onto a long clearance, Manipur substitute Muskan moved into the box and unleashed a firm left-footed shot that flew past Arpan, allowing Manipur to breathe more freely as they eventually triumphed.