Bangladesh, Manipur reach Subroto Cup semis

The Subroto Cup U17 girls quarterfinals kicked off on Tuesday with SAI Salt Lake, Kolkata taking on Tamil Nadus Govt. Girls Higher Secondary School at the Ambedkar Stadium here.

Tamil Nadu took the lead fifteen minutes into the game before Kolkata drew level just four minutes later through their talisman Nitu Nilda, who scored her eighth goal of the campaign. However, D. Ananthi's 32nd minute strike and a goalless second half ensured that Tamil Nadu progressed to the last four of the competition.

In the second quarter-final, GVHHS representing Kerala took on Nilmani English School from Manipur at Pathways World School. The North Eastern side raced to a four goal lead by half-time, putting the tie beyond GVHHS. Sreelaxmi pulled one back in the second half for Kerala but it was nothing more than a consolation as Manipur added a fifth to record an emphatic 5-1 victory.

Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Pratisthan (BKSP) faced high flying Rabia Balkhi from Afghanistan, who recorded a 9-0 victory against Airforce School on match-day 3. What was expected to be a close encounter turned into an absolute rout as BKSP ran out 6-0 winners, thanks to Aklima Khatun's hat-trick.

The fourth quarter-final featured Assam's Simbargaon High School, who recorded an emphatic 12-0 win against Hatimari High School on match-day 3. Squaring off against Umthli Higher Secondary School from Meghalaya, it was a closely contested affair but Simbargaon High School won it from a solitary goal by Apurna Narzary.

( With inputs from IANS )