BHUBANESWAR 12-Mar-2013 401
An 18-member Indian team, including three from Odisha, returned home today after winning the title in the AFC Under-14 Girls Regional Championship (South and Central), which was held at Colombo from March 5 to 10. The Odisha trio of Runi Nayak, Srijana Tamang and Suman Pragnya Mohapatra was accorded warm reception here at the Biju Patnaik Airport with Football Association of Odisha joint-secretary Sangita Sharma and former India woman football captain Sradhanjali Samantaray greeting the youngsters with bouquets.
Indian girls asserted their supremacy, winning all five of their league matches by big margin. They started their campaign with 3-0 win over Tajikistan and clinched the title in style, trouncing Bhutan 9-0 in their last league match. In between, India hammered Bangladesh 5-1, host Sri Lanka 10-0 and Iran 6-1.
The champion side scored a total of 33 goals and conceded only two in the Championship. Kashmina was India`s top scorer with 13 goals, including six against Sri Lanka and three against Bhutan. Among other goal-getters, Heigrujam Daya Devi netted seven, while Pooja Dhamal and Nisha Bageria contributed four each.
Among the three Odisha girls, Nayak of Bhubaneswar and Mohapatra of Cuttack played in the defence, while Tamang, a trainee of Bhubaneswar Sports Hostel, performed in the mid-field. This was the second international experience for Nayak and Mohapatra, who had helped India emerge champions in the AFC Under-13 Girls Festival last year, also at Colombo.
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PHOTO: Odisha girls (L to R) Runi Nayak, Srijana Tamang and Suman Pragnya Mohapatra display their AFC gold medals in Bhubaneswar on March 12, 2013.
