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25th April 2018, Nashik: Earlier today, in the final of WIFA Inter-District Women’s Championship, Nagpur played Kolhapur in a thrilling contest at Nashik. After both the sides failed to score in the normal time, Nagpur defeated Kolhapur 4-3 on penalties to lift the title and end their campaign on a superb note. Both Nagpur and Kolhapur had crashed Mumbai and Pune’s title hopes in the semis which was nothing short of a spectacular result.
Though Nagpur and Kolhapur had to go through the penalty shootout in order to defeat their counterparts, it was a brilliant performance to eliminate two of the likeliest finalists. When both these sides faced earlier today, it became a historic moment for both these districts who were playing each other for the very first time in the final.
Throughout the game, Nagpur and Kolhapur defended superbly. They knew that even conceding a single goal will turn out to be fatal considering how good their defense has been over the last one week. At the full-time whistle, the score was still tied at 0-0 as the match headed towards the ultimate showdown, penalty shootout.
For Kolhapur, only Pratiksha Mhatre, Mrunal Khot and Aadhika Bhosale managed to convert their spot kicks while Sunita Yadav, Riya Sukhdev, Shraddha Yadav and Anni Anthony converted for Nagpur to clinch the title in the sudden death. A great campaign for both the districts which has etched into the history books. What a memorable Championship this turned out to be, a battleground, contested between the underdogs.
