BANGLAORE: The quality of the football on display may have been poor, but the drama on the final day of the I-League season could have been scripted by O. Henry, the master of the surprise ending.
Going into the 18th and last round of games, Minerva Punjab led the way with 32 points, despite their form having fallen off a cliff in the second half of the season. NEROCA, based in the tiny eastern Indian state of Manipur, trailed them by a point. And one further back came the two most storied clubs in Indian football — Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
To add to the sense of spectacle, Minerva were up against the Goa-based Churchill Brothers, who had won the second of their national titles as recently as 2012-13. Churchill, who started the season with five straight defeats, needed nothing less than three points to avoid relegation. Given what was at stake, the game resembled a relegation six-pointer, and Ghana’s William Opoku’s 15th-minute strike was enough for Minerva to become the first north Indian winners of the title since Jagatjit Cotton & Textile Football Club were the inaugural champions of the National Football League in 1996-97.
Minerva’s triumph also gave the I-League, now seen as the impoverished sibling of the cash-rich and heavily promoted Indian Super League (ISL), a third first-time winner in the past five seasons. Bengaluru FC, who won it in 2013-14 and 2015-16, comfortably topped the ISL log, having migrated to the “bigger” league in the off-season. And last season, FC Aizawl — from the eastern state of Mizoram that most Indians would struggle to locate on a map — did a Leicester City by beating Bagan and East Bengal to the title.
NEROCA, who took second place by holding East Bengal to a 1-1 draw on their turf, have as remarkable a story. The North Eastern Re-Organizing Cultural Association Football Club was established in 1965, but it was not until 2015-16 that they first played at the national level, in the I-League’s second division.
That was the year that Minerva, formed in 2005, also took their first steps on a bigger stage. And having escaped relegation only on the basis of a head-to-head record last season, Minerva now find themselves top of the tree, just ahead of a NEROCA side that were champions of the second-tier last season.
If anything, that is a damning indictment of Bagan, East Bengal and the toxic Kolkata football culture that held the Indian game back for so many decades. A frog-in-the-well mindset meant that both clubs cared about little more than dominating the Kolkata league. There was no thought to building a team, let alone a dynasty, with players swapping clubs almost every season.
Baichung Bhutia, India’s most feted footballer of the modern era, had multiple stints with both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. IM Vijayan, his fellow striker in so many games for India, also yo-yoed between the two clubs after first making waves with Kerala Police. Imagine Steven Gerrard or Ryan Giggs flip-flopping between Liverpool and Manchester United, and you begin to get a sense of how absolutely farcical the system was.
Now, though miles remain to be traversed, there is a semblance of sanity. A Super Cup, to be played in March and April, will feature the top teams from both the ISL and the I-League, and be a successor to the Federation Cup, which was India’s answer to the FA Cup for 40 years.
Khogen Singh — NEROCA fans would have winced at the irony of a Manipuri coaching Minerva to the title — sounded quite bullish about his team’s prospects, though a tally of just 24 goals in 18 games suggests they will struggle against free-scoring ISL sides like Bengaluru and FC Goa. Much will depend on the slight Bhutanese No.10, who was the find of the I-League season. Chencho Gyeltshen scored seven and had seven assists, and his winner away to NEROCA was one of the key moments in the title race.
“I think the I-League is more competitive,” said Khogen, whose side lost four of their last eight games after taking 25 points from the first 30 available. “There is not much difference in the standard of games in these leagues. In the Super Cup, we will have to prove that I-League teams are at par even though they are built on low budgets.”
The Kolkata giants — Bagan finished third after drawing 1-1 in Kerala with Gokulam FC — could certainly learn a thing or two from how the new boys have gone about their business. With just one title between them in the last 14 seasons, the time for change is nigh.
I-League conjures up fairytale finish as Minerva Punjab win unlikely title
I-League conjures up fairytale finish as Minerva Punjab win unlikely title
Lee, Hellgren, Kim secure 2026 LIV Golf wild cards
- Canada’s Richard T. Lee claims victory at Black Diamond Ranch in Florida
LECANTO: A dominant performance by Richard T. Lee of Canada. A clutch low round for Sweden’s Bjorn Hellgren. And an inspirational return for American Anthony Kim.
All three players had reason to celebrate at Black Diamond Ranch on Sunday afternoon after securing the three wild card spots available through this week’s LIV Golf Promotions. The trio joins International Series qualifiers Scott Vincent and Yosuke Asaji as the five wild cards who will compete in the 13 regular season tournaments during the 2026 LIV Golf League season, which opens in Riyadh on Feb. 4-7.
While Lee and Hellgren will make their LIV Golf debuts in Saudi Arabia, Kim returns for his third season as a wild card player. He came out of a 12-year retirement from professional golf to join LIV Golf in 2024 but was relegated after last season. Earning a spot for 2026 reflects the considerable progress he has made in recent months.
“There were definitely low moments throughout those two years,” Kim said. “But I believe in myself more than anybody else believes in me, and I think that’s all that matters. I felt like I would earn my spot back if I did get relegated, which I did. I felt like if I just kept my foot on the gas and just kept grinding that great things were going to happen.”
Lee, meanwhile, completed an impressive weeklong effort with a final-round 5-under 65, leaving him at 11 under for the 36-hole weekend shootout for a five-shot victory over Hellgren, his nearest competitor.
The 35-year-old becomes the first Canadian to earn a spot on LIV Golf and he did it in style, shooting rounds of 64, 66, 64 and 65 over the four days, including the first two 18-hole knockout rounds that whittled the initial field of 78 players down to the 22 competing this weekend.
“It’s not sunk in yet, to be honest,” said Lee, who suffered just two bogeys all week, one of those coming late on Sunday when he already had a spot wrapped up. “Twenty-one under on this course is absolutely amazing. I’m very pleased with my game right now.”
Hellgren shot an even-par 70 on Saturday, leaving him outside the top 10 on Sunday. The 35-year-old, who won the Saudi Open presented by PIF last month, had to play aggressively to make up strokes.
He opened with consecutive birdies and overcame a couple of bogeys midway through his round, finishing it off with four birdies in his final six holes to shoot a 6-under 64, matching the course record set by Lee earlier in the week.
“Starting the day, we knew what we had to do,” Hellgren said. “We had to shoot a low one today. We had to basically go all in.”
Kim was in better shape to start the day, in the primary chase pack after shooting a 66 on Saturday. Through 10 holes on Sunday, he was even par for the day and in a three-way tie for the third and final spot with two Thailand golfers, Jazz Janewattananond and Sarit Suwannarut.
Kim then birdied the par-4 11th with a 20-foot putt to create separation, then battled hard to maintain it. The par-4 14th was a key moment, as he twice overcame tricky lies near bunkers, eventually saving par with a 15-foot putt. By the time he reached the 18th hole, he was three shots clear of fourth place and could afford a final bogey.
“Felt like if I made that putt, it could really swing the momentum,” Kim said of the 14th. “I beared down and holed it.”
Lee and Hellgren are both looking forward to the step up in competition with LIV Golf, with a field that includes champions such as Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and others.
“Definitely have to hit it longer to keep up with those guys and maybe get my short game a little bit sharper,” Lee said.
“Obviously this is going to change our life, for my family,” Hellgren added. “But it’s still just a tournament, and I’m sure I’ll be going to Riyadh to try to win because I like the feeling of winning.”
Kim, meanwhile, is glad just to have another season on LIV Golf. Sunday’s outcome was arguably the biggest moment of his two-year return to the sport.
“There’s a ton of satisfaction,” Kim said at the end of his press conference. “I’m sure I’ll understand that all that work has really shown this week, maybe later tonight when I’m drinking an iced tea. It means a lot to me because three years ago, doctors told me that I potentially had two weeks to live. So just to be here standing in front of you guys is a blessing.”
