Bhubaneswar: Odisha moved into pole position in Group F of the Santosh Trophy after winning their first two matches at Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh.
Odisha opened their campaign with a 4-0 thumping of Madhya Pradesh. It was followed by a hard-fought 1-0 win over Telangana.
With 6 points from 2 games, Odisha lead Group F. With only the group toppers advancing to the second round, Odisha need a draw in their last group fixture against hosts Chhattisgarh qualify.
The nine group winners will join three direct entrants Assam (hosts), West Bengal (defending champions) and Kerala (losing finalists) in the next phase where 12 teams will be divided into two groups of 6 each.
Four teams each from the second-phase group swill then progress to the knockout rounds.