Ahana ’tricks as JBCN rout RN Podar 3-0 to enter semis

JBCN’s Ahana Arun Kumar during the quarter-final against RN Podar in Borivli yesterday. Pic/Anurag Ahire

Ahana Arun Kumar cornered the limelight as she netted a hat-trick for JBCN International (Borivli), who defeated RN Podar (Santacruz) by a convincing 3-0 margin to reach the semi-finals of the girls under-16 second division in the MSSA inter-school football tournament at St Francis D'Assisi ground, Borivli, on Tuesday.

JBCN rode on an attacking first-half display as the brilliant, left-footed Ahana, who was sublime with her finishing, sealed the quarter-final encounter in the first half itself when all the goals were scored.

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JBCN struck thrice in the opening 13 minutes of play. The second and third goals were ample demonstration of Ahana's individual skill as she got past a host of defenders before unleashing a left-footed finish.

Down by three goals, Podar, who had received a bye in the first round, strived hard to claw their way back in this match, but failed.

In the semi-finals, JBCN will meet Army School (Colaba) who came through their quarter-final with an identical 3-0 win over Carmel of St Joseph (Malad).
In-form striker Shikha Kumari, who had also scored the winner in their opening match, struck a brace, while her sister and teammate Khushi Kumari added the third goal.