By IANS,
Gurgaon: Jharkhand won the National Under-16 Football Championships for the Coca Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy football with a 1-0 win over Karnataka in the final at the packed Devi Lal Stadium here Tuesday.
Singrai Soren’s header helped Jharkhand score the solitary goal in the match.
Both teams started on a cautious note but it was Jharkhand who dominated the first half and had better ball possession and control. Jharkhand missed a few scoring chances in the first half and broke the deadlock in the 35th minute after Soren headed in a perfect flag-kick from Tulunga as Karnataka custodian Prabhakar remained a mute spectator.
Looking desperately for an equaliser Karnataka looked a rejuvenated side in the second half and put pressure on Jharkhand especially in the last fifteen minutes but could not find the target
Jharkhand’s Lalnun Fela was awarded the Player of the Tournament Trophy.
Nearly 60 players were selected from the tournament to create pool of players for the national under-16 team. The best 16 players will attend the Coca Cola International Football Camp in South Africa during FIFA World Cup.