Striker pearl fernandes

SAFF U16 Women: India began their campaign in the SAFF U16 Women’s Championship on an easy note with a 7-0 thrashing of Bhutan at the ANFA Complex, Lalitpur, Nepal, on Friday. The winners led 6-0 at halftime.

Anuksha Kumari, the 13-year-old from Hazaribagh who earned a name for herself by scoring 22 goals in the National Sub-junior tier 1, tore the Bhutan defence open to complete a well-deserved hat-trick. Striker Pearl Fernandes (2), Shveta Rani and substitute Anwita Raghuraman were other goal scorers for the Young Tigresses.

The four-team tournament also features hosts Nepal and Bangladesh. The two top teams will play the final on March 10.