Bangladesh were held to a 1-1 draw by hosts Bhutan, prompting India to win the SAFF Under-17 Women鈥檚 Championship 2025 title after their 5-0 victory over Nepal on Friday鈥檚 second match at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan.
Purnima Marma scored for Bangladesh in the sixth minute before Bhutan鈥檚 Chorten Zangmo equalised in the first minute of stoppage time of the first half.
A win for Bangladesh against Bhutan on the day could have delayed India鈥檚 title triumph as well as kept their hopes of retaining their crown.
However, the previous edition champions Bangladesh fell short of reaching India鈥檚 winning run collections of 15 points, as they managed 10 points from five games with three wins, one draw, and one loss.
Bangladesh confirmed their second-place finish, will play India in the opening match on Sunday, while Nepal will face Bhutan in the other game.
Earlier, Bangladesh began their campaign in the double-leg round-robin format competition by beating Bhutan 3-1, then losing to India 2-0, before bouncing back by defeating Nepal 3-0 and 4-1.
Apart from beating Bangladesh, India also defeated Nepal 7-0 and 4-0, and Bhutan 8-0 and 5-0, to win this age-level (from U-15 to U-17) competition title for the third time.
India previously won the titles when the tournament was held for Under-15 teams, beating Bangladesh 1-0 in 2018 and on penalties 5-3 in 2019.
Nepal collected three points from five games, while Bhutan earned one point from as many games.