India beat Sri Lanka by 5-0 in SAFF U-19 Women's Championship

Dhaka: Indian Women's Under-19 Team got off to a winning start in the SAFF U-19 Championship in Dhaka Bangladesh, defeating Sri Lanka by a massive 5-0 margin. Nitu Linda scored two goals for the team, backed by one each from Santosh, Karen Estrocio, and Priyanka Devi.

India was on the front foot right from the beginning of the game as they got the lead in the second minute itself with Santosh almost making it to the post. Though the shot was saved by Sri Lanka keeper TJN Dewage, Santosh managed to latch on to the rebound and smashed it into the net. Karen Estrocio doubled the lead three minutes later.

The Indian girls



settled nicely into the match, keeping long bouts of possession and looking for opportunities to pry the Sri Lankan defence open. Nitu Linda scored two goals in 9th and 41st minute and Priyanka Devi scored in 82nd minute to complete India's goal tally.

India will now clash with Bhutan tomorrow at 06:30 p.m. The top two sides at the end of the round-robin stage will contest the final on 22nd December.

This is only the second edition of the SAFF U-19 Women's Championship. The previous tournament was held in Bhutan in 2019 and was won by Bangladesh, with India finishing third.