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Pune Women’s Team successfully defended its WIFA Inter-District Senior Women’s Championship title, defeating Mumbai 3–0 in the final in Jalgaon.
une have once again established themselves as the leading force in Maharashtra women’s district football, securing their second consecutive WIFA Inter-District Senior Women’s Championship title. Mumbai finished runners-up for the second successive year after going down 3–0 in the championship decider.
The tournament featured several one-sided encounters, closely fought matches, dramatic penalty shootouts and impressive comebacks before Pune and Mumbai met in a repeat of last season’s final.
Day 1 – Buldhana Make a Strong Start
The tournament got underway with Buldhana registering a convincing 5–0 victory over Sangli in a one-sided opening encounter.
Buldhana’s commanding performance set the tone for what would be an entertaining championship featuring several high-scoring games.
Day 2 – Goals, Drama and Penalty Shootouts
Day 2 featured eight matches, producing plenty of goals and drama.
Palghar opened the day with a massive 13–0 victory over Ratnagiri, while Wardha defeated hosts Jalgaon 4–0.
Bhandara and Solapur were involved in a tightly contested encounter that finished 1–1 after regulation time. Solapur eventually prevailed 3–0 on penalties.
Thane produced another dominant display, defeating Amravati 10–0.
Buldhana continued their strong campaign with a 3–0 win over Gondia.
Dhule and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar played out an exciting 1–1 draw, with Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar eventually winning the penalty shootout 3–2.
One of the day’s most exciting encounters saw Nagpur and Kolhapur draw 1–1, before Kolhapur edged the marathon penalty shootout 5–4 after both teams went through an extended series of spot kicks.
Nandurbar advanced with a 3–0 walkover against Nanded, who failed to report for the fixture.
Day 3 – High-Scoring Encounters and a Stunning Comeback
Palghar continued their impressive scoring form on Day 3, defeating Solapur 14–0.
Wardha produced one of the day’s biggest comebacks. After falling 2–0 behind against Nandurbar, Wardha fought back brilliantly to turn the match around and secure a 4–2 victory.
Thane maintained their excellent run with a commanding 7–1 win over Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Buldhana’s campaign came to an end after they were defeated 2–0 by Kolhapur.
Day 4 – Quarter-Final Battles
The quarter-finals brought together the tournament’s leading contenders.
Mumbai produced a strong performance to defeat Palghar 5–0, booking their place in the semi-finals.
Ahmednagar delivered one of the tournament’s biggest wins, thrashing Wardha 12–1.
Defending champions Pune showed their strength with a convincing 5–0 victory over Kolhapur, while Thane continued their impressive campaign by defeating Yavatmal 5–0.
The semi-final line-up was therefore set: Mumbai faced Ahmednagar, while Pune took on Thane.
Semi-Finals – Pune and Mumbai Set Up a Repeat Final
Mumbai faced Ahmednagar in the first semi-final and secured a hard-fought 1–0 victory to book their place in the final.
In the second semi-final, Pune delivered a dominant performance against Thane, recording a 4–0 win.
The result set up a repeat of the previous season’s championship final, once again bringing Pune and Mumbai together for the title.
Final – Pune Defeat Mumbai 3–0 to Retain the Crown
The final in Jalgaon was a rematch of last season’s championship decider, where Pune had defeated Mumbai 2–1 with a stoppage-time winner in Palghar.
This time, both teams started cautiously, producing a competitive first half. Neither side was able to break the deadlock as the teams went into the interval 0–0.
Pune came out with greater attacking intent after the restart and soon found the breakthrough.
Yashika Tejwani unleashed a powerful long-range effort that found the back of the net, giving Pune a 1–0 lead.
Tejwani continued to make the difference and doubled Pune’s advantage with another outstanding long-range strike, putting the defending champions firmly in control.
As the final approached its conclusion, last season’s Player of the Tournament Ritika Singh put the result beyond doubt with a composed finish at the second post.
The move was calmly set up by Ipshita Gawari, allowing Singh to complete the scoring and give Pune a commanding 3–0 advantage.
Pune saw out the remaining minutes comfortably to secure a comprehensive victory and successfully defend their title.
The final whistle confirmed Pune as WIFA Inter-District Senior Women’s Championship winners for the second consecutive year, while Mumbai once again finished as runners-up.
Ahmednagar Finish Third
The third-place match saw Ahmednagar take on Thane in another closely contested encounter.
Both sides were level at 1–1 after regulation time, with Thane unable to convert a couple of opportunities that could have changed the outcome.
The match consequently went to a penalty shootout, where Ahmednagar held their nerve to win 3–1.
The victory secured third place for Ahmednagar, who finished on the podium for the second consecutive year in the WIFA Inter-District Senior Women’s Championship.
Final Standings
Champions: Pune
Runners-up: Mumbai
Third Place: Ahmednagar
Pune’s back-to-back triumph underlines their consistency at the district level, while Mumbai and Ahmednagar also produced strong campaigns to secure the other podium positions.
