Kozhikode, Nov 24 (PTI) Former champions Kerala as well as Meghalaya and Jammu and Kashmir qualified for the final rounds of Santosh Trophy National Football Championships after winning their respective matches on Sunday.
Kerala routed Pondicherry 7-0 here to enter the final rounds from Group H. The seven-time winners finished the group with an all-win record and nine points.
While Sajeesh E and Naseeb Rahman struck twice each, Gani Ahmmed Nigam, Christy Davis and Shijin T were the other goal scorers.
Railways took the second place in the group after edging past Lakshadweep 1-0. Pavan Vijay scored the all-important goal in the 57th minute.
In group A matches played in Amritsar, Jammu and Kashmir thrashed Ladakh 5-0 to qualify for Santosh Trophy final rounds.
Prolific goal-getter Aakif Javaid slammed a hat-trick with Hayat Bashir and Dimple Bhagat scoring the other goals.
In the day's other match, Punjab finally tasted victory with a 7-0 win over Himachal Pradesh. Kamaldeep (three goals), Tanveer Singh, Jaginder Singh, Jang Bahadur Singh and Gaurab were the scorers.
In Nalbari in Assam, Meghalaya qualified from Group E after a 1-1 draw against the host state.
Meghalaya made the grade on the strength of topping the group with seven points.
Against Assam, after a goalless first half, Meghalaya took the lead in the 56th minute through Damanbhalng Diengdoh, but Dipu Mirdha of Assam converted a spot kick to restore parity in the 88th minute.
In the other match of the group, Arunachal Pradesh picked up their first win, beating Nagaland 4-3.