Pratiksha Ghosh
Narainpur (Chhattisgarh), May 20 2025:
Punjab entered into the quarterfinals of the Swami Vivekananda Men's U20 National Football Championship with a dominant 8–1 win over Ladakh in their final Group C match at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground on Monday.
Needing a win to top the group and ensure progression to the knockout stage, Punjab delivered a commanding performance despite conceding early. Ladakh briefly led through Imran Ali's eighth-minute strike, but Punjab equalized within a minute via Gaurav Singh, who slotted home a rebound.
Harmandeep Singh edged Punjab ahead in the 25th minute with a clever finish over the Ladakh goalkeeper, before Gurmeet Singh made it 3–1 just before halftime by rounding the keeper and tapping into an empty net.
Punjab extended their dominance after the break. Arun Kumar Chandla struck twice in quick succession in the 68th and 69th minutes, followed by Damandeep Kumar’s sixth in the 79th. Chandla completed his hat-trick in the 85th minute, while Arshvir Singh wrapped up the rout in stoppage time (90+2').
Punjab finished the group stage level on nine points with Manipur but topped the table on head-to-head advantage, having defeated Manipur 1–0 earlier.
In the day's other fixture, Manipur thrashed Sikkim 6–1 with two hat-tricks — one each by Konthoujam Lemba Singh (8', 10', 74') and Md Abash (72' pen, 85', 90+4'). Sikkim’s lone goal came from a penalty converted by Ragpay Lepcha in the 48th minute.
