Goalkeeper M Linthoingambi produced a heroic performance to enable Radha Madhav Sanskrit Vidhyalaya, Nambol, Bishnupur (Manipur) lift the Girls' title of the 54th Subroto Cup at the Ambedkar Stadium here today.
Manipur survived a tough challenge to prevail 6-4 (1-1) over Govt Senior Secondary School, Alakhpura, Bhiwani (Haryana) in a hard-fought final.
Linthoingambi played a huge role in the outcome, saving quite a few attempts in regulation time before holding her nerves to save an attempt from Ritu of Haryana during the penalty shootout.
This is the second time that a team from Manipur has won the Girls' title.
It turned out to be a fitting finale with two equally matched teams fighting it out tooth and nail.
Having outclassed most of their opponents in the previous matches, Manipur were expected to canter home with an easy victory, but Haryana had other ideas.
Though speedy, skillful players from Manipur were a little bit superior in the technical aspects, Haryana made up for that to a large extent with their gutsy display in their maiden final appearance.
The team from the north-east dominated the early exchanges and Ratanbala Devi handed Manipur the lead in spectacular fashion, almost effortlessly dribbling past two rival defenders before punching the ball into the net.
Undaunted by the setback, Haryana continued to fight hard and they were almost rewarded for their perseverance when their winger Sanju sped down the left sideline before cutting in to unleash a powerful shot, which forced a nice save from goalkeeper Linthoingambi.
