Heavyweights West Bengal, Kerala and Punjab were on Thursday drawn in the same group for the upcoming 75th Santosh Trophy football tournament.
The official draw for the tournament was held here on Thursday with former India defender Gouramangi Singh assisting in the process.
Ten teams who came through the qualifiers were drawn into two groups of five each for the main event which will be held in Kerala from February 20.
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"I was very pleased to know that the Hero Santosh Trophy would be taking place in Kerala as it is a footballing state," said Gouramangi.
"It is a great initiative by the AIFF and Kerala Government and I wish the players all the best." Group A could easily be classified as a 'Group of Death' with the likes of West Bengal, Kerala and Punjab going head-to-head along with Meghalaya and surprise package Rajasthan.
Group B sees defending champion Services paired alongside Manipur, Karnataka, Odisha and Gujarat, the latter qualifying at the expense of powerhouses Goa.
The platinum jubilee edition of the tournament will be inaugurated by the competition's two most successful sides – West Bengal (32-time winners) and Punjab (8).
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Host Kerala opens its campaign against Rajasthan, which Maharashtra by a point in the west zone qualifiers.
Services begin the defence of its title against a Manipur side which knocked out Mizoram in qualifying.
Karnataka, which came through with a perfect record, will be hoping to build further momentum in its opening game against Odisha.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
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