India scored three goals in the second half to blank Palestine 3-0 in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-16 Championship 2018 Qualifiers at the Halchowk Stadium here on Wednesday.

Givson Singh Moirangthem opened the scoring off an impeccable free-kick in the 51st minute, while Bekey Oram doubled the lead on the 72nd minute. The result was put beyond doubt when skipper Vikram Pratap added a third on the 79th minute.

India came very close to breaking the deadlock early on itself, when on the eighth minute Oram's shot whizzed just wide of the goal.

In the 25th minute, Givson, who was operating as a free-player in the middle, drove in from the middle but Ricky John Shabong was not on the same wavelength.

Perhaps the biggest chance of the first-half for India came in the 28th minute when Harpreet Singh's volley ricocheted off the crossbar leaving the Indian dugout disappointed.

Gurkirat Singh also had a crack at goal from a good 30 yards out but the Palestine goalkeeper had no trouble dealing with it.

After the half time interval, Givson stunned the Palestine goalkeeper in the 51st minute when his right-footed free-kick found the target leaving the custodian stranded at the other end.

Bekey then converted a meticulous cross from Ricky to double the lead in the 72nd minute..