AR CAPF U-19 : Manipur girls, Mizoram boys crowned champions

Shillong: Mizoram survived some tense few moments to hold off Manipur for a 2-1 victory in the final of the boys’ division of the Assam Rifles CAPF Under-19 Football Talent Hunt Tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Saturday.
Before the start of the match, Director General of Assam Rifles, Shokin Chauhan, encouraged both teams in a short speech. The Chief Guest for the occasion, governor of Mizoram Nirbhay Sharma, lauded Assam Rifles for hosting the tournament and wished the players luck.
Manipur girls beat Meghalaya 1-0 to emerge as champions in the girls’ category.
Meghalaya defended well against a Manipur side that had scored an average of six goals in each of their previous matches. However, in the 47th minute A. Roja Devi secured the breakthrough that proved to be decisive.
As both finals featured the top two teams from the group stage it was no surprise that the matches were hard-fought encounters.
The boys’ final was equally exciting with Mizoram coming from one goal down to snatch victory and deny Manipur a double triumph.
The match experience for the thousands of fans was augmented by live screens and top quality video services displaying the action on the pitch. Performance by the Assam Rifles’ mass band and a cultural dance fusion celebrating the North East were held after the match.
The winners took home a cheque of Rs 1 lakh and an exquisite trophy named in honour of North East football legend Talimeran Ao. The runners-up received Rs 60,000.
The two winning teams will also take part in phase three of the nationwide Oorja tournament, organised at the initiative of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs next month.