Kerala crush Andaman 38-0 in senior women’s football; striker Shilji hits 13 goals

Kerala made a powerful start to the Senior Women's National Football Championship with a thumping 38-0 win over Andaman & Nicobar.

Striker Shilji Shaji scored 13 goals, while Manasa K and Malavika P bagged six goals each. Kerala led 21-0 at half-time and fired in 17 more in the final 45 minutes at Vadakkancherry in Palakkad on Thursday.

Aleena Tony scored four, while substitute Meenakshi D hit a hat-trick. Bhagya Vinod and Aswani M R contributed with a brace apiece, while substitute Sauparnikha T hit the final goal of the evening.

Kerala, led by Arya Sree, are in Group G, also comprising Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. Kerala's second match is against Tamil Nadu on September 13, followed by Pondicherry two days later. The matches are played on an artificial turf.

A few other heavy results were witnessed elsewhere as hosts Chhattisgarh crushed Andhra Pradesh 14-0 in a Group F match in Narainpur, and Gujarat drubbed Madhya Pradesh 8-0 in a Group H fixture at Bhavnagar.

Result: Kerala 38 (Shilji Shaji 1, 16, 23, 28, 32, 33, 34, 40, 43, 50, 51, 56, 73; Malavika P 3, 13, 20, 44, 49, 58; Aleena Tony 6, 15, 45+2, 54, 63; Manasa K 4, 17, 19, 29, 41, 47; Meenakshi D 85, 87, 90+1; Bhagya Vinod 66, 83; Aswani MR 67, 79; Sauparanikha T 90+9) bt Andaman & Nicobar 0