Swami Vivekananda Men's U20 NFC: Maharashtra, Tripura start campaign with wins

Narainpur (Chhattisgarh), May 12 (IANS) Maharashtra and Tripura tasted victories against Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand, respectively, as Group D of the Swami Vivekananda Men’s U20 National Football Championship commenced at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground on Monday.

While Tripura defeated Jharkhand 1-0 in the first match, Maharashtra overcame Himachal Pradesh 2-0. Maharashtra and Tripura occupy the respective first two spots in the group, while Jharkhand and Himachal have negative goal differences. Mizoram has yet to play in the five-team group.

Tripura began Group D action on Monday morning with a slender win against Jharkhand.

The two teams fought it out, before Nailson Tripura gave his side the lead in the 68th minute. The forward trapped a laced effort by captain Bilash Debbarma in a tight space close to goal and whipped the ball into the net.

Maharashtra scored one in each half to defeat Himachal Pradesh in their first match of the 2025 Swami Vivekananda Men’s U20 NFC.

Kshitij Maral opened the scoring in the ninth minute, as he finished off a cross from the right. After the restart, Keanan Bhobe, in the 51st minute, managed to run onto a piercing aerial through ball behind the Himachal defence and slotted it home at the near post.

On Sunday, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh had made winning starts to their campaign in Group C.

Sikkim beat Ladakh 3-1 before Uttar Pradesh edged past Punjab 1-0. Manipur, which will play their first match on Tuesday, is the other team in the five-team Group C. Only the group winner will progress to the quarter-final.

The scores were level at the break as Sikkim's lead via Jigmet Nurboo's 19th-minute own goal was cancelled out by Imran Ali Khan at the stroke of half-time. But Sikkim overpowered the union territory side in the second half as goals by Deepjay Sharma in the 66th minute and Choden Lepcha in the 76th secured a convincing win.

After a goalless first half, Pravesh Kumar broke the deadlock in the 69th minute, which proved enough for Uttar Pradesh to notch all three points.

--IANS

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