Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Jun 20: Arunachal Pradesh lost to Jharkhand 4-0 in the final of the Hero Sub-junior Girls’ National Football Championship 2019 in Cuttack, Odisha.
Soni Munda and Basanti Lakra scored two goals each for Jharkhand.
The Arunachal team had a splendid run in the tournament, making history by becoming the first girls’ team from the state to make it to the final of the championship.
Till the final, the girls had an unbeaten run, with Tallo Ana scoring 15 goals in five matches. Ana remained the highest scorer of the tournament.
“Our girls are excited to play a national football championship final for the first time!” said Kipa Bharat, the head coach of the Arunachal team, in a video posted on Twitter by the official handle of the All India Football Federation.
Congratulating the head coach and the players, Arunachal Pradesh Football Association secretary Kipa Ajay said the historic feat by the girls’ team would inspire many.
“We are very proud of our girls and the coach. The way the girls performed throughout the tournament and made our state proud in the national platform has been extraordinary. It is a very big achievement for us that we finished in second place in this prestigious championship,” Ajay said.
The state’s sub-junior boys’ team had also reached the final of the Hero Sub-junior National Football Championship in December last year.
