Brushing aside injury worries, the Capital team put on display an impressive show and in fact called the shots in the first half of the first semi-final. However, strikers Ankit Sharma and Karan Rastogi failed to make the most of the opportunities that came their way.
The defence also held its own against the most formidable forward line of the tournament, but was breached after the breather as Manipur opened the account in the 52nd minute.
Ankit, who had to take painkillers because knee-injury, drew parity minutes later, scoring what was his sixth goal in the tourney but Manipur reclaimed the lead in the 70th and held on to it to advance to the final.
“Our boys put up a great show against a really good team, and we could’ve even won if we had converted the chances,” said coach Ranjit Thapa after the match.
In the title round, Manipur will take on the winner of the second semi-final between Jharkhand and Meghalaya to be played on Thursday.