Former champions Punjab claimed a spot in the final four of the Santosh Trophy football championship by beating Tamil Nadu 1-0 in the last quarter-final league match in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Punjab will challenge holders Manipur in the second semifinal on Friday after last year's finalists Kerala clash with dark horses Services on Thursday.
In the day's other match, which was only of academic interest, 29-time champions Bengal rounded off their campaign
with a 1-0 over Uttar Pradesh.
Punjab, who were almost through to the last four after thrasing Goa in their first match, played percentage soccer
conserving their energies for the tough outing against the defending champions.
Tamil Nadu's gallant fight, led by man-of-the-match L Johny, could not deny Punjab their fifth win on the trot. The
side, with an all-win record, has so far scored 21 goals in the competition.
Punjab, who came through the qualifiers, scored the winner in the 39th minute when striker Harvinder Singh took advantage of a defensive lapse and found the net following a corner kick.
Earlier, Bengal won a dull match before a sparse crowd at the Ambedkar Stadium.
The solitary goal came three minutes before the break when man of the match Gouranga Dutta's cross was directed goalwards by Sankha Roy Choudhary, who evaded his markers with a fine header.
