Shillong, Aug 24: Umrynjah’s victory over Nongumlong in the second quarterfinal of the Shillong Sports Association’s Third Division has been confirmed.
Umrynjah fended off a good fight by Nongumlong to win 2-1 in the match on 13th August but Nongumlong immediately protested.
The issue at hand was player eligibility, something which has cropped up a few occasions this season in both the Third and Fourth Divisions.
The Umrynjah player concerned (TSR doesn’t know his name) was, Nongumlong claimed, ineligible to be included in the Third Division because he had supposedly switched to Mawlai in 2024 and had not been formally transferred back to Umrynjah during the SSA’s transfer window earlier this year.
However, the SSA accepted that Mawlai had only taken the player on loan for the Meghalaya State League 2024, which concluded in February this year. After that tournament ended, the SSA deemed that he returned to his parent club, Umrynjah, and therefore no transfer was required.
Even Umrynjah, given the protests that had occurred earlier this season, were wary about fielding the player in question – he was benched for the quarterfinal against Nongumlong but still included in the player list.
With this decision, the four semifinalists of the Third Division 2025 have been confirmed.
The first semifinal will take place on Monday at 2:45PM between Umlyngka and Umrynjah. The following day Madan SCC will take on Mawkriah West in the second semifinal at 2:45PM.
(TSR file photo)
