NARAINPUR, (Chhattisgarh) May 22: Delhi were crowned winners of the inaugural Swami Vivekananda U-20 Men’s National Football Championship, beating Karnataka 4-3 on penalties following a thrilling 3-3 draw after extra time here on Wednesday.
After 40 days of non-stop action involving 32 teams, Delhi came out on top after a memorable final, where they came from behind three times to take the game to penalties.
Karnataka’s Ishaan Raghunanda and Delhi’s Sankhil Darpol Tuishang struck a brace each for their sides before the latter struck the winning penalty for Delhi.
Karnataka opened the scoring soon after in the 12th minute with Ishaan Raghunanda’s delicate finish.
Delhi’s equaliser goal came in the 43rd minute via captain Lamlallian, leaving the second half nicely poised.
Karnataka were the ones who got it, and it took something special from Nithin Paul to help them regain the lead.
Running out of options in the box, M Nihaar passed the ball back to Paul, who lashed a first-time shot with his left foot from 30 yards out.
But one mistake in the Karnataka backline led to parity again in the 71st minute.
Arjun Gouda failed to clear a loose ball in the box and Delhi substitute Sankhil Darpol Tuishang pounced on it and squeezed it past George.
Karnataka had the best chance of winning the match in normal time but the woodwork came to Delhi’s rescue. .
However, in the very first minute of extra time, Karnataka took the lead for the third time in the match. Raghunanda made it 3-2.
Delhi had been matching Karnataka every step of the way in normal time and the script continued in extra time. They got their third equaliser in the 98th minute thanks to Tuishang again. (PTI)
