AIFF Media Team

NARAINPUR, CHHATTISGARH: Telangana came from behind to beat Sikkim 2-1 and qualify for the quarter-finals of the Swami Vivekananda U-20 Men's National Football Championship at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh, on Friday, April 26, 2024.

Telangana thus finished Group H at the top of the table, with three wins in three. Sikkim ended up in second place with six points. Bihar routed Andaman & Nicobar 5-0 to finish in third place, while the latter ended in fourth. Telangana will meet Group A winners Manipur in the quarter-final on April 28 at 07:30 IST.

Sikkim 1 (Akash Sundas 6')
lost to
Telangana 2 (Sahil Tamang 9', Shaik Sadaan 76')

In the winner-take-all clash, Sikkim made the best possible start as they took the lead in the sixth minute after a series of defensive errors from Telangana. Sikkim skipper Akash Sundas took full advantage of a poor clearance which fell kindly onto his path before he tucked the ball home from point-blank range.

But Telangana's response was swift. They equalised just three minutes later thanks to a stunning 20-yard free-kick from defender Sahil Tamang. His right-footed curling strike went around the wall and into the top corner, leaving Sikkim goalkeeper Pranub Limboo with no chance even at full stretch.

After a blistering start with two goals in the first nine minutes, the contest cooled off a bit as both teams proceeded with caution. The onus was on Sikkim to find a winner as a draw would've been enough for Telangana to go through due to their superior goal difference. But Sikkim failed to find that elusive winner and Shaik Sadaan's 76th-minute strike for Telangana killed them off. And it was a rather embarrassing goal to concede in a do-or-die game like this, with Sikkim custodian Limboo taking too much time with the ball at his feet as Sadaan punished his casual approach by nicking it off him and rolling it into the empty net.

Bihar 5 (Rakesh Ranjan 33', Lorens Tudu 44', Bijay Hembrom 61', 87', Kishan Patel 78' p)
beat
Andaman & Nicobar 0

In the evening's dead rubber clash, Bihar ran out 5-0 winners over Andaman & Nicobar to end their campaign on a high.

Bijay Hembrom was the star of the show with two goals and an assist. He helped Rakesh Ranjan open the scoring in the 33rd minute with a low ball across the face of goal, and scored two of his own in the 61st and 87th minute, with a header and a volley, respectively. Lorens Tudu netted a solid strike in the 44th minute with a top-corner finish from outside the box. Substitute Kishan Patel added another from the penalty spot in the 78th minute.