India begin SAFF title defence with resounding win

BIRATNAGAR, NEPAL: The Indian women’s national team kicked off its campaign at the SAFF Women’s Championship with a resounding 6-0 win over Maldives at the Sahid Rangashala Stadium here on Wednesday.

Dangmei Grace, Sandhiya Ranganathan, Sanju, Indumathi Kathiresan and Ratanabala Devi — all found the back of the net for India, coming into the tournament as defending champions.

The Indian team pressed forward from the first whistle and after a couple of close attempts in the opening exchanges, Grace put the defending champions into the lead eight minutes into the match after latching on to a loose ball insidethebox.