Damandeep kumar

Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground: Punjab qualified for the quarter-finals of the Swami Vivekananda Men’s U20 NFC after defeating Ladakh 8-1 in their Group C match at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground, on Monday. Manipur defeated Sikkim 6-1 in the other match of the day.

Needing three points to secure the top spot and a place in the quarter-finals, Punjab went on to complete a demolition job over Ladakh, after the latter had the lead, albeit for a brief period, early on in the game. Punjab led 3-1 at half-time.

Imran Ali’s eighth-minute goal for Ladakh was cancelled out just about 60 seconds later by Punjab’s Gaurav Singh, who smashed in a rebound. Harmandeep Singh, in the 25th minute, poked a bouncing ball over the Ladakh goalkeeper’s head, to help Punjab put one foot in the knockout rounds. Gurmeet Singh doubled the lead in the 43rd minute, when he skipped past the keeper and slid it into the goal.