Bangladesh’s SAFF U-17 final hope dashed by India

The Bangladesh team’s hope of playing the final of the SAFF Under-17 Championship got shattered after suffering a 1-2 defeat against their Indian counterparts in the semifinal held at the Racecourse Ground in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Monday, reports news agency UNB.

India’s Thanglalsoun Gangte scored a brace while Mirajul Islam scored the lone goal for Bangladesh.

After a barren first half, Gangte broke the deadlock in the 51st minute, scoring his and India’s first goal of the semifinal.

Before Bangladesh could recuperate from the blow, they conceded another goal just eight minutes later, once again courtesy of Gangte.

Bangladesh pulled one back in the 63rd minute, when Mirajul converted from the penalty spot.

But Bangladesh couldn’t penetrate the Indian defense for the remaining minutes.

Earlier, Bangladesh U-17 team thrashed host Sri Lanka by 5-1 goals their opening group A match. Next, they blew past the Maldives by 5-0 goals to confirm their spot in the semifinal as group A champions.

On the other hand, India reached the semifinal as group B runners-up.

India started their campaign with a 3-0 win over Bhutan, but suffered a 1-3 goal defeat to Nepal in their second group B match.