Manipur, West Bengal seal semis berths

Jamshedpur, Feb 16 (PTI) Manipur, runners-up in theprevious edition, and West Bengal stormed into the semi-finalsof the women''s football event of the National Games afterscoring crushing wins over Assam and Tripura respectively heretoday.

Manipur mauled Assam 10-0 while West Bengal annihilatedTripura 26-0 at JRD Tata Sports Complex.

Reigning champions Orissa have already made it to thelast-four stage and hosts Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu will clashfor the final semifinal slot.

Orissa topped Group ''A'' with two wins -- against TamilNadu and Haryana -- pocketing six points.

Manipur girls kept Assam on their toes and dominated theproceedings right from the kick off as it surged ahead in thesixth minute through long-ranger off S. Rina Roy Devi, wholater added two more goals, (43rd and 59th minutes).

Assam girls did their best but Manipur foiled all theirattempts time and continued to hit the target at regularinterval.

Besides Rina, Manipur forward E Bindyarani Devi (20th,36th and 68th minutes) also struck a hat-trick while P H BinaDevi, M Mandikini and A Asharani Devi also contributed inManipur''s win.

Manipur, who won both the matches, earned six points andwill clash with West Bengal tomorrow to complete the groupengagements.

In another Group Group B match today, West Bengal downedTripura 26-0 after leading 13-0 at half-time in an one-sidedaffair.

Rinku Ghosh emerged highest scorer with six goal for thewinners.