Bangladesh entered semi-finals of SAFF Women's Championship as Group 'B' winner. (Photo: ANFA)
Bangladesh has defeated arch-rival India 3-1 in the group stage match of the SAFF Women's Championship held at Dasharath Stadium in Tripureshwar, Kathmandu.
With this win, Bangladesh has entered the semi-finals of the championship as the Group 'B' winner.
Defending champion Bangladesh took the 1-0 lead against India after Afida Khandaker scored a goal in the 18th minute of the first half.
Similarly, Bangladesh doubled the score after Tohura Khatun scored a goal capitalizing the long cross from Ritu Porna Chakma in the 29th minute.
Bangladesh widened the lead 3-0 after Tohura Khatun made a goal utilizing the back pass from Samsunahar in the 42 minute.
India's captain, Bala Devi, scored a consolation goal for her team with a header. The goal came after the Bangladesh goalkeeper punched away a cross from Dalima Chhabar.
Bangladesh defeated India by 3-0 in the group stage encounter in the previous edition. Despite losing to Bangladesh, India reached the semi-finals as a group runner-up. Pakistan in Group A has been eliminated.
Bangladesh is atop the points table with four points followed by India with three points and Pakistan is at the bottom of the group with one point from Group 'A'.
In the semi-finals, Bangladesh will now play against the runner-up of Group 'B'. India will play against the winner of Group 'B'. In group 'B', there is a possibility that Bhutan and Sri Lanka will reach the semi-finals along with home team Nepal.
Maldives, which is in Group B, has been eliminated from the race for the semi-finals after losing two matches in a row.
Sri Lanka vs Nepal and Bhutan vs Maldives will compete in the championship tomorrow. The outcome of this match will determine the final lineup for the semi-finals.
.
