Guwahati, February 11

On a day when Nepal failed to win any medal in the ongoing 12th South Asian Games, Nepali men’s football team conceded two goals in five minutes to throw away the lead and faced a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in the Group B match here at the SAI Stadium today.

Nepal took an early lead through Ananta Tamang’s header in the second minute before Bangladesh hit back with two goal in the space of five minutes before the break. The loss meant Nepal finished second in the group and will face the Group A runners-up Maldives, while the other semi-final pits Group B winners Bangladesh and Group A runners-up India on Saturday.

Nepal — who thrashed Bhutan 5-0 riding on Nawayug Shrestha’s hat-trick in their first match — finished the league round with three points from two games. Already assured of the semi-final berth, Nepal and Bangladesh came into the match to decide the group winners.

Nepal head coach Raju Kaji Shakya rested striker Bimal Gharti Magar, midfielder Anjan Bista and regular goalkeeper Bikesh Kuthu for the match. Nepal opened the scoring with a header from Ananta Tamang following a free kick from the right. Nepal came close to double the lead in the 38th minute when skipper Biraj Maharja took a long shot but the ball went inches over the bar.

Nepali players seemed relaxed in the latter part of the first half and Bangladesh capitalised on defensive lapses to score two goals before the break. Defender Md Rayhan Hasan levelled the scores in the 40th minute with a right-footed shot from close range following a pass from Md Nabi Newah Ziban.

Bangladesh then took lead moments before the first half whistle when they converted the move that started from corner. Nepali defenders looked hapless and Ziban received a pass from Hemonta Vinsent Biswas before burying the ball past diving Allan Neupane.

Coach Shakya defended the decision of resting regular players, Bimal Gharti Magar, Ranjan Bista and Bikesh Kuthu, in the match. “The three players had minor injuries and we did not want to risk as we were already in the semi-finals,” said Shakya, the 1993 SAF Games gold medal winning skipper.

He said the defenders could not perform up to the mark. “The defence line disappointed me and we also failed to convert the chances in the second half,” Shakya added. “After we made changes in the second half, we were able to put the opponents under pressure. Bangladesh played really well today,” he said. Asked about the semi-final match, Shakya said: “We are here to win the gold medal, so we will definitely give our best shot in the semi-final match against the Maldives,” said the confident coach.

Bangladesh coach Moreno Gonzalo Sanchez termed Nepal as the best team of the tournament. “Nepal played well but we converted at right times to win the match. I am not happy with the team’s performance despite the win today. There are so many areas we would have to improve before going into the semi-final match,” Sanchez added.

Women’s football team enters final

SHILLONG: Nepal’s women football team played a goalless draw against hosts India at the Nehru Sports Complex on Thursday and advanced to the final with one match still to play. This is the first time Nepal earned a draw against India in their fifth meeting Nepal lost to India three SAFF Championship finals — 1-0 in Bangladesh, 3-1 in Sri Lanka and 6-0 in Pakistan — and 5-0 in the final of the 11th SA Games in Dhaka in 2010.

Nepal accumulated seven points from three matches to maintain the top spot in the round-robin league. They had registered a 3-0 victory over Bangladesh before beating the Maldives 2-0 in the first two matches. Nepal will now take on Sri Lanka in the last league match. Bangladesh are second with six, one point ahead of third-placed India. The Maldives have one point, while Sri Lanka — who have two matches on hand — are yet to open their accounts. After the league round, the top two teams will play in final, while the third-placed team will win bronze medal.

Handball

Nepal made winning start in handball here at Sonapur on Thursday. The women’s team defeated Sri Lanka 36-24, while the men’s team registered a 29-26 victory over Afghanistan in the first-round matches. The women’s team scored 12 goals in the first half and added 24 in the latter half to register a comfortable victory. Uma Gurung netted 13 goals, while Ranjana Rai scored eight for Nepal. Likewise, Bandana Rai (six), Nisha Rai (four), Sadhana Bam (three) also made significant contribution, while Pema Sherpa and Kabita Rai netted one goal each.

In men’s match, Prime Gurung top score for Nepal with 10 goals, while Basu Gurung netted eight and Manoj Thagunna scored four. Bishal Basnet scored three, while Madan Chunara, Shree Bahadur Sinjali, Krishna Bahadur Chaudhary and Jagat Bahadur Shrestha netted one each.

The Nepali women’s team, which is making its SA Games debut will take on India on Friday, while the men’s team will play against Pakistan. “We could not make desired start in the indoor stadium as we had prepared in the open place,” said coach Himal Dahal. “We improved our game in the second half and could score goals,” he added.

Athletics

GUWAHATI: Nepal athletes made dismal show here at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Association at the Sasurajai Sports Complex on Thursday. Sprinter Yam Sajan Sunar did qualify for the finals but finished disappointing seventh in 22.31 seconds, which was 0.25 seconds more than his heats time. Sunar holds the national record of 21.92s. Bishow Rupa Budha and Pushpa Bhandari ran in the women’s 10,000m but both the athletes withdrew from the race. While Bhandari was entered in the event as an warm-up for Friday’s marathon race, Budha failed to finish because of injury. In 1,500m race, Chhatra Bahadur Dahal finished seventh in four minutes and 03.88 seconds, while Saraswoti Bhattarai came fifth in four minutes and 25.59 seconds. In women’s triple jump, Chandra Dev Joshi jumped 13.96 metres, while Chandra Kala Lamgade covered the distance of 40.35 metres in women’s javelin throw.