Dadra & Nagar Haveli win U-17 women's national football championship

Dadra & Nagar Haveli defeated Bihar by a solitary goal to emerge champions in the Hero Junior (U-17) Women's National Football Championship 2022-23 in Guwahati on Monday.

The final was played at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium.

Pooja was the difference between the two teams as she scored the winner in the 87th minute. Put in the clear, she made no mistake to place it into the back of the net. Earlier, both teams started on a cautious note.

Dadra & Nagar Haveli had the better of the possession in the initial 10 minutes. The first shot on target came as early as the second minute, which was easily collected by Bihar goalkeeper Khushi Kumari. In the 10th minute, the build-up was promising enough, but Bihar defender Nisha Kumari thwarted it with a timely tackle. In the 16th minute, Dadra and Nagar Haveli had a close shave as Bihar came close when Shruti Kumari's attempt hit the woodwork.

Bihar also had another chance in the 31st minute but Lucky's attempt from a narrow-angle missed the target. Dadra and Nagar Haveli also had their chances. First Pooja latched onto a chip but her attempt wasn't on target, and then in the 36th minute, she saw her placement hit the post. Changing over, Bihar had a golden opportunity to surge into the lead when Lucky Kumari found herself unmarked. But her attempt lacked power and caused no trouble for Dadra and Nagar Haveli. In the end, it was Pooja's late strike that helped Dadra and Nagar Haveli put the game to bed, as the union territory was crowned champions of the tournament.