Assam Rifles and Oil India Ltd players fight for ball possession at Mangaldoi Stadium on Thursday. A Telegraph picture

Mangaldoi, Sept. 11: Assam Rifles, Tezpur, maintained their supremacy on the greens by retaining the 29th Amba Medhi Football Tournament title.

They defeated former champions Oil India Ltd, Duliajan 3-0 in the final played at Mangaldoi Stadium here today.

Though the petroleum giant started on a positive note dominating the proceedings right from the word go, they lost the tempo soon and the paramilitary men gained command over the game.

This is the third time that Assam Rifles have claimed the title. They had earlier won the tournament in 2000 and 2007. OIL had earlier won the title in the silver jubilee edition of the tournament in 2004.

In today’s match, Bulu Jigdung drew first blood by netting the ball in the 36th minute of the game. OIL custodian Jitu Chetry was partly responsible for the goal as he fumbled and lost his grip on the ball, which then rolled off towards Jigdung, who made no mistake in netting it for a 1-0 lead in the first half.

In the second session, the Duliajan men tried to come back into the match with some attacking moves, but were soon overshadowed by their opponents.

Striker Akum Ao shut out the OIL men from the match by netting a brace for Assam Rifles. His first goal came through a header off a flag kick by Thoiba Singh in the 58th minute. For his second goal, Ao headed in a centre from the right flank by Abel Sema in the 85th minute.

Though the OIL men tried to reduce the margin with all out efforts in the last few minutes of the match, it was too late for them to overcome the Assam Rifles defence.

In the course of the match, both the teams, however, squandered several opportunities.

Naoba Singh of Assam Rifles was adjudged the Best Player of the final match.

Altogether 12 teams participated in the high-profile invitation tournament.

Former IAS officer Prasanna Sarma and former footballers Nripen Chakraborty and Baneswar Das were felicitated by the organisers Mangaldoi Sports Association during the prize distribution ceremony.

Local MLA Binanda Saikia and sponsor Airtel executive Sudipta Chowdhury gave away the prizes.