Meghalaya Dominates Andhra Pradesh in U20 National Football Championship
Meghalaya's Impressive Victory
In a thrilling match held at the Rama Krishna Mission Ashrama, Meghalaya moved closer to securing a spot in the quarter-finals of the Swami Vivekananda U20 Men's National Football Championship by defeating Andhra Pradesh decisively with a score of 8-1 on Wednesday.
The match saw standout performances from Alex Manar, Mebanlamlynti Masharing, and Ryan Gibbs Kharnaior, each contributing two goals. Phermanbha Lyngdoh and Sholinstar Syngkli also added to the tally, while B Bharath Kumar Reddy managed to score the lone goal for Andhra Pradesh.
Other Matches in the Championship
In another Group A encounter, Jharkhand triumphed over Rajasthan with a score of 2-1. Rajasthan initially took the lead with a goal from Rudra Pratap Singh in the 6th minute, but Jharkhand equalized just before halftime through Roushan Kumar and secured the win with Animesh Champia's goal in the 79th minute.
Meghalaya now sits at the top of Group A with nine points from three matches and only needs a draw against Rajasthan on May 17 to guarantee their advancement to the quarter-finals.
Group C Highlights
In Group C, Kerala achieved a significant 5-1 victory over Chandigarh. Sheril Shaji Thomas scored a remarkable first-half hat-trick, while Sarthak Ghosh managed to score for Chandigarh in the 70th minute. However, Kerala's Calwin Thomas and Usman TH sealed the win with late goals.
Uttarakhand also had a commanding performance, defeating Andaman and Nicobar 9-1. Sanjay Mehra and Yash Mittal opened the scoring for Uttarakhand, but P Mohammed Hasir equalized briefly. Uttarakhand then surged ahead with multiple goals from Gourav Singh and Harshit Mahar, along with late contributions from Deboshish Mazumdar and Abhinav Yadav, while an own goal from Naveen Kumar capped off the match.
Current Standings
Uttarakhand currently leads Group C with three points from one match, closely followed by Kerala, who also has three points but trails on goal difference.