The India U-16 national team qualified for the semifinals of the SAFF U-16 Championship, currently being held in Sylhet, albeit suffering a 1-2 defeat against hosts Bangladesh on Thursday (August 12) in Sylhet District Stadium.

A penalty for Bangladesh in the dying embers of the match cropped the hope of being undefeated in the Group Stages for the Indian contingent.

After trailing by a solitary goal at half-time the spirit of the Indian colts was seldom deterred and Rahim Ali blasted the ball in the back of the net in the 48th minute to equalize the deficit.

With both teams jostling for possession, the match became an end-to-end affair.

In the 82nd minute of the match Bangladesh earned a penalty kick and scored, as Reamsochung was tripped inside the box.

At the end of full time the score-line reflected 2-1 in favor of Bangladesh.

The Indian colts thus finished second in Group A with three points out of a possible six, and hence qualified for the latter stages of the competitions. The Indian contingent will now clash swords against the winner of the Nepal versus Afghanistan tie on August 16, 2015.

(Report & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)