Football

Nepal came back from a goal down to beat defending champions India 3-1 on Friday to enter the SAFF U-17 Championship semi-finals as Group B winners.

The match held at Colombo's Racecourse Stadium served more as a determiner of the semi-final line-ups as both the teams had already secured their places in the last four. Nepal, who had defeated Bhutan 2-1 in their previous match, finished on top of the group with six points, three above India.

Also Read: Nepal quell Bhutan challenge to reach SAFF U-17 C'ship semis

In the semi-finals, Nepal square off with hosts Sri Lanka with India meeting Group A winners Bangladesh. Both the matches will take place on Monday.

India, who scored an emphatic 3-0 victory over Bhutan, started the game well and Danny Meitri punished a defensive frailty to score in the 17th minute.

But Nepal grew in confidence as the match wore on. After a see-saw battle in the middle, the Nepalis showed urgency towards the close of the opening half. And Saroj Darlami brought Nepal on level terms with a power shot on the stroke of half time.

Nepal started the second half stronger and continued probing the Indian defence. In the 48th minute, Unesh Budathoki slotted the ball home to give Nepal a 2-1 lead. It was the second goal in the tournament for the forward who was also instrumental in Nepal's win over Bhutan.

Nepal maintained their stranglehold and looked dangerous going forward. In the 68th minute, they extended the lead to two goals. Subash Bam, after spotting the Indian goalkeeper out of position, beat him with a fine chip to make it 3-1.

In the other group, hosts Sri Lanka quelled the challenge of spirited Maldives by a solitary goal in a late kick-off on Friday.