Olympics qualifiers

Bishkek, April 8

The Indian women’s football team registered a second successive win, defeating hosts Kyrgyzstan 4-0 at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium to qualify for the second round of the 2024 AFC women’s Olympics qualifiers.

Having defeated the hosts 5-0 in their first match earlier this week, India again dominated the proceedings, with Sandhiya Ranganathan netting a brace and Anju Tamang and substitute Renu scoring a goal each on Friday.

It did not take long for the Blue Tigresses to get going as Sandhiya scored in the 18th minute, beating two defenders and tucking her shot past the rival goalkeeper.

A few minutes later, India suffered a setback when Karthika Angamuthu was sent off for a challenge on Kyrgyzstan’s captain Aizhan Boronbekova. However, that did not deter India as Anju Tamang slammed a half-volley home to double India’s lead in the 24th minute.

Coach Thomas Dennerby, looking to strengthen the middle of the park after the red card, brought on midfielder Sangita Basfore in place of winger Soumya Guguloth just a minute after the goal.

Anju and Sandhiya led a flurry of attacks and came close to scoring on a couple of occasions but the scoreline remained 2-0 as the teams came in at the break. India picked up where they had left off in the second half, with Sandhiya finding the back of the net again. — PTI

Super Cup: Bengaluru held as Punjab lose

Kozhikode: I-League side Sreenidi Deccan held ISL heavyweights Bengaluru FC to a 1-1 stalemate to begin their campaign in the Super Cup by sharing points here on Saturday.

First-half goals from Bengaluru’s Javi Hernandez (9th minute) and Faysal Shayesteh (21st) saw the spoils being shared at the end of what was a closely-fought match in humid conditions. In the day’s second match, Kerala Blasters registered an emphatic 3-1 victory over reigning I-League champions, RoundGlass Punjab FC. Goals from captain Dimitrios Diamantakos (41st), Nishu Kumar (54th) and Rahul KP (90+5) gave Blasters a comfortable win. Krishnananda (74th) scored the only goal for the Punjab outfit.