Thane District emerged champions defeating Kolhapur District 1-0 in the Junior Girls’ final of the WIFA Inter-District Football Championship organized by the Palghar District FA and played at the Tarapur Vidya Mandir ground, Palghar. Nyasa Bondre scored the all-important winning goal.
Thane District players are seen in a happy mood as they pose with the trophy
The summit clash contested between Thane and Kolhapur was a hard-fought battle for supremacy. The decisive moment for Thane came courtesy Nyasa Bondre’s 25-yard stunning free-kick goal, which gave her team the crucial lead. Thereafter, Thane’s solid defense ensured that Kolhapur could not find an equalizer, and the match ended 1-0 in favor of Thane, crowning them the champions and winning their maiden title.
Earlier, in the play-off for third place, Pune delivered a dominant performance, defeating Raigad 5-0 to secure their position on the podium.
Thane demonstrated their superiority which was marked by a series of impressive from the start. Their journey began with a dominant 22-0 victory over Nanded in their opening match.
Thane continued their stellar form into the quarter-finals, where they secured a convincing 3-0 win over Nashik, booking their spot in the semi-finals. In a nail-biting semi-final encounter, Thane’s skipper Harleen Kaur scored a late goal to edge out Pune and propel her team into the final.
On the other side of the bracket, Kolhapur started their campaign with a significant victory, knocking out one of the competition’s favorites, Mumbai, with a narrow 1-0 win. They continued their successful run with another 1-0 win, edging past Palghar in a closely contested quarterfinal match. In the semi-finals, Kolhapur delivered a commanding performance, defeating Raigad 3-1 to secure their place in the final.
Harleen Kaur the captain of Thane District was declared as the ‘Player of the Tournament’, while Kolhapur District’s Asavari Patil was adjudged as the ‘Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament’.
Individual Honors: Player of the Tournament: Harleen Kaur (Thane).
Best Goalkeeper: Asavari Patil (Kolhapur).