The Indian under-13 squad has returned from a successful campaign in the AFC Youth Festival held at Yazd City, Iran. In the second round matches, India won two, while lost to hosts Iran in the last match. India played separate playing elevens in either halves of the second round matches.
In the first match of the second round, India defeated Bhutan 7-0, thanks to a hat trick from Firozuddin Mollah. Basu Mukherjee scored a brace, while Lalemruata also added to the tally.
It was another thumping win for the under-13s in the second match against Sri Lanka. They overcame Sri Lanka 8-0 with goals coming from Firozuddin Mollah (3), Rajesh Goswami (2), Basu Mukherjee and Sandeep Bhatacharjee. But, in the last match, India went down to Iran 2-0, after conceding one goal in each half.
Team's coach Satheevan Balan was pleased with the boys. “It was the first time the kids played at such a big platform. But they stayed composed,” he said.
Striker Lalemruata and midfielders Lalmuanzova and Sandeep Bhatacharjee were declared the 'Best Players' of the AFC Festival, while Kerala's Lazim Ali was awarded the 'Most Skilful Player' award for excelling in the skill tests. Lazim is a product of the Sports and Education Promotion Trust (SEPT).
First Round:
India 8-0 Bhutan
India 1-1 Pakistan
India 3-0 Yazd City
India 8-0 Bhutan (Return-leg)
India 1-1 Iran
Second Round:
India 7-0 Bhutan
India 8-0 Sri Lanka
India 0-2 Iran
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Saturday 28 May 2011, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.