AIFF Media Team

NARAINPUR, CHHATTISGARH: Bengal kicked off their Junior Boys’ National Football Championship Tier 1 for the BC Roy Trophy campaign in style, drubbing Tamil Nadu 6-2 at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground, in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh, on Sunday, August 4, 2024.

Tamil Nadu took the early lead in the eighth minute of the Group  D match when S. Santhosh scored from a rebound. However, the 18-time champions drew back after Samir Sardar (30’) produced a magical long-ranger to score the equaliser at the half-hour mark. Four minutes later, Sabyasachi Dhar (34’) whipped a volley into the top corner to put his side in the lead, as Bengal headed into the half-time break with a 2-1 lead.

Subhodip Sardar (48’, 63’) scored two early goals in the second half, to put Bengal in a comfortable position, dinking the goalkeeper from close range for his first, and scoring it at the near post to make it 4-1. While Anil Kumar (67’) pulled one back for Tamil Nadu, Anish Das (79’) and Sagun Hembram (84’) scored two more for Bengal.

Kerala produced a fine 2-0 win against hosts Chhattisgarh in the second match of the day in the same group. Hashmil V. (11’) opened the scoring after he was played through on goal and produced a left-footed finish. With around 10 minutes left for the half-time whistle, Hashmil was brought down inside the Chhattisgarh box, an infringement for which a penalty was awarded against the hosts. Alphonse Chiriyankandath (37’) converted the penalty.

Gujarat, Uttarakhand in hot pursuit of Jr Boys’ NFC Tier 2 Group B summit

NAGAON, ASSAM: Gujarat beat Madhya Pradesh 2-1, while Uttarakhand overcame Tripura 1-0 at the Nurul Amin Stadium Ground 2, in Nagaon, Assam, to move on to six points apiece in Group B of the Junior Boys’ NFC for the BC Roy Trophy Tier 2. They remain one point behind table-toppers Jammu and Kashmir, who have seven points.

Gujarat won their match in a dramatic manner with an injury-time winner by Vedant Gajjar (90+2’). Earlier, the side from western India took the lead in the first half through Kitamcha Toijam (18’), before Madhya Pradesh’s Mohammed Jeheruddin (41’) equalised.

In the other match, Uttarakhand captain Mayank Singh scored a 35th minute goal to win the match for his side.

In Group D, Telangana produced a comfortable 8-0 victory against Pondicherry at the Nurul Amin Stadium Ground 1, to move on to six points.

Thongam Yaiphaba Singh (21’p, 87’) and C. Paramesh (40’, 45+1’) scored a brace each, while Aman Paswan (23’), Syed Faizan Ahmed Hashimi (24’), and Hrishikesh Charan Manavathi (90’) netted a goal apiece for Telangana. Pondicherry’s Kishore (52’) scored an own goal.

Bihar hammered Rajasthan 5-1 in the second match of Group D on Sunday. Daniel Chaure (61’, 77’) and Oman Kumar (86’, 90+1’) scored two goals each, while captain Lekhak Murmu (90’) scored a last-minute penalty for Bihar. Sahil Meena (32’) scored for Rajasthan.

Bihar currently occupy the top spot in Group D thanks to a higher goal difference than Telangana, with both teams being on six points apiece. The two sides will face off at 4 pm IST on August 6 for a spot in the semi-finals.

Tamil Nadu, Kerala begin Jr Girls’ NFC 2024-25 Tier 1 campaign with wins

ANANTAPUR, ANDHRA PRADESH: Tamil Nadu began their Junior Girls’ NFC 2024-25 Tier 1 campaign with a comfortable 4-0 victory against Gujarat in Group C at the RDT Stadium, in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh.

S. Pragatheeshwari (25’) began the scoring early on, as Kaviya (28’) and Jayasri (31’) added two more before half-time. Anwita Raghuraman (90+2’) added the fourth in injury time.

In the second match of the group, captain Bhagya Vinod’s (28’, 32’) stellar performance propelled Kerala to a 3-0 victory against Arunachal Pradesh. Anu R. Lopez (40’) scored their third goal.

While both Tamil Nadu and Kerala are now on three points apiece in Group C, the former are ahead on goal difference.

Karnataka book berth in Jr Girls’ NFC Tier 2 semis

BELGAUM, KARNATAKA: Hosts Karnataka booked their spot in the last four of the Junior Girls’ NFC Tier 2 semi-finals after a 2-2 draw against Uttar Pradesh, at the Sporting Planet Lovedale Central School Ground, in Belgaum, Karnataka on Sunday.

Both teams went into the virtual quarter-final on nine points apiece, though Karnataka (+49) were ahead of Uttar Pradesh (+39) on goal difference. The latter came out of the blocks early with Kumari Komal scoring in the ninth minute. However, Maitreyi Palasamudram (40’) pulled it back just ahead of the interval. Uttar Pradesh took the lead a second time through Khushi Rai (62’), but Maitreyi (69’) equalised a second time to help her side hold on to the top spot in Group A on goal difference.

Maitreyi is currently the tournament's leading goalscorer, having netted 17 goals in four matches so far.  

Chandigarh condemned Andaman & Nicobar to the bottom spot of Group A with a 9-2 victory in the second match of Group A.

With both teams out of contention for a semi-final spot, Chandigarh took the initiative early on to register their second win of the campaign. Saachi Kanwar (16,26,42,84) had a field day, netting four goals for Chandigarh, with Alisha (37’, 86’) and Gitanshi Jyoti (48’, 80’) scored a brace each, Ankita (11’) got one goal to her name. Anamika Thakur (44’, 88’) scored the two goals for Andaman & Nicobar.

Monday, August 5, 2025 fixtures:

Junior Boys’ NFC for BC Roy Trophy

Tier 1, Narainpur, Chhattisgarh

Group B: Delhi vs Goa (8 am); Maharashtra vs Jharkhand (3 pm)

Tier 2, Nagaon, Assam

Group A: Lakshadweep vs Manipur (8 am); Nagaland vs Andaman & Nicobar (2 pm)

Group C: Andhra Pradesh vs Himachal Pradesh (10 am); Sikkim vs Arunachal Pradesh (4 pm)

Junior Girls’ NFC 2024-25

Tier 1, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh

Group A: Bihar vs Andhra Pradesh (9 am); Himachal Pradesh vs Jharkhand (3 pm)

Tier 2, Belgaum, Karnataka

Group C: Assam vs Uttarakhand (8 am); Punjab vs Telangana (11 am)

Group D: Meghalaya vs Madhya Pradesh (2 pm)