Kolhapur: Three goals in the first session of play saw the Pahadi girls (Himachal Pradesh) emerge champions in the Hero Junior Girls National Football Championship.At the Polo ground here on Wednesday, Himachal Pradesh defeated Jharkhand 3-1, with goals of the boots off Anju, Kiran, and Manisha, with Kuwari Indwar scoring the lone goal for Jharkhand. It just took five minutes after the kick-off, Himachal Pradesh girls, who were undefeated in the championship proved why they were there. And it was their skipper Anju who put them 1-0 up.
However, Jharkhand hit back to level the score when the tournament highest scorer Kuwari Indwar found the net beating the advancing Jharkhand custodian Sandhya Toppo to level the score (1-1). However, Himachal restored their advantage in the 11th minute with one of the best goals of the tournament, scored by Kiran. Controlling a cleared ball outside the box, she brought the ball down and slammed it into the bottom corner with the outside of her foot, putting her side in the lead. The teams headed for a cooling break midway through the first half and with that, the pace of the match also cooled down for a bit. Jharkhand missed a chance that fell to Sumati Kumari – the tournament top scorer and Himachal’s saw a free-kick of hers blocked.
