Good start for Mizoram in Mir Iqbal football

Kolkata, Feb 15 : Mizoram aced out Chandigarh and Karnataka in an identical margin 3-1 on the opening day of the 33rd AIFF U-16 Mir Iqbal Hossain Trophy finals began here.

In Group A, Jharkhand thrashed Chandigarh 3-1 at Barasat Stadium, and Mizoram in a fine display of soccer defeated Karnataka 3-1 in Group C at Khardah Stadium.

The Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy is a national-level tournament. It is being organised under the aegis of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) which is a grassroot level championship.

Altogether 16 states have been qualified for the finals.

The Group league matches will be held from February 14 to 19, while two Semi-finals will be held on February 21. The final will be played on February 24.

The participating 16 teams in final round, including defending champions Jharkhand, are devided into four groups with four team in each.

Group A : Jharkhand, Tamilnadu, Chandigarh, Maharashtra Group B : Goa, Orissa, Tripura, Kerala Group C : Karnataka, Punjab, Mizoram, Bihar Group D : Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam