HOSTS AG Maharashtra, AG West Bengal, AG Kerala and AG Tamil Nadu defeated their respective rivals to storm into the semi-finals of the Indian Audit & Accounts Department (IA&AD) Inter-Zonal Football Tournament conducted under the aegis of Accountant General Recreation Club (AGRC) of the Office of The Accountant General (Audit) II, Maharashtra at SECR Motibag Football Stadium, Tuesday.

In the quarters, AG Maharashtra defeated AG Meghalaya 2-1 to setup semi-final clash with AG West Bengal who blanked AG Rajasthan 2-0 while defending champions AG Kerala got the better of Delhi Audit defeating them 2-0. They will meet AG Tamil Nadu who thrashed AG Jammu and Kashmir 6-2. The final is slated for April 21.

Maharashtra’s captain Anirban Paul of Nagpur, headed the ball into the net in the 36th minute to open the account. In the second half, AG Meghalaya scored the equaliser in the 67th through SS Sohktung. Maharashtra earned a penalty kick in the 72nd minute and Ashish converted it with a powerful shot to right side of the goalkeeper making in 2-1 for the hosts.

Earlier, the tournament was inaugurated by Maninder Uppal, Divisional Railway Manager, South East Central Railway. Praveer Kumar, Accountant General (A&E), Maharashtra, Nagpur, R Thiruppathi Venkataswamy, Patron and Accountant General (Audit)-II, Maharashtra, Nagpur, Devendra Mishra, President, AGRC, HT Fulpadia, Sr DAG (Admn) & Welfare Officer, Pallavi Holkar, Sr Dy Accountant General (AMG-II), Aditya R Bhojgadhiya, Sr Dy Accountant General, Branch Office, Mumbai, Dinesh Mate, Sr Dy Accountant General (Pension, Fund & Accounts), Akshay Khandare, Dy Accountant General (Admn), Naresh Kumar Manne, Dy. Accountant General (AMG-IV), Aditya Somkuwar, Sr Sports Officer, SE Railway, Dhanraj Chavhan, Welfare Officer and others were present during the function. Ranjit Sharma compered the programme.