Shillong: Manipur and Mizoram won the bronze medals in the football events at the 2nd North East Olympic Games 2022 on the penultimate day at the MFA Turf at Polo Ground here today.
Manipur engaged in an intense battle with Nagaland in the U-21 men’s third place match, coming through 4-3 winners.
In the corresponding U-17 women’s match, Mizoram beat Sikkim 3-1.
Manipur scored first through S Doungel in the sixth minute, but in the very even game, Nagaland equalized through Vhoto in the 12th. Manipur, who lost to Meghalaya in the semi-finals, took the lead again in the 33rd minute through M Simte and held the lead until half-time.
Early in the second half, Nagaland, who were beaten by Mizoram in their semi-final, restored parity again through Thulunso (51′), but they conceded two quick goals again from Manipur’s N Binode Kumar Singh (54′) and Doungel (62 ′). This time, Manipur were able to hold out until just before the final whistle when Nagaland’s Neisede (90’+1) gave them a glimmer of hope, but that turned out to be the final goal of an exciting game.
Later, all four goals were scored in the first half itself, with Lalrinmawii (10′, 45’+1) grabbing a brace, while Gladys added another for Mizoram. Simran Gurung was Sikkim’s lone goalscorer. Although Sikkim came close in the second half, the score did not change.
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