KATHMANDU, Aug 17: Nepal has failed to qualify for the final of the SAFF U-15 Girl’s Championship yet again as it suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of India in the first semifinal match on Thursday. This is the second consecutive time India has reached the final. A total of only four teams had participated in the tournament hosted by Bangladesh in 2017.
In the last tournament played in round robin league format, India and Bangladesh played in the final which the former won 1-0. At the time, Nepal had finished third after winning one and losing two games in the tournament. Nepal had lost 10-0 against India in the first edition. This year, with the participation of Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the tournament, the six teams were divided into two groups. The top two teams of the tournament advanced into the semifinals in which Nepal qualified as the runner-up of Group B, while India as the Group A winner.
Nepal fails to reach final for the first time
In Thursday’s match, India took the lead in the 31st minute through Lynda Kom, but it could not maintain its lead for long. After five minutes, Nepal struck back through Rajani Thokar to equalize the score. Scoring in the 58th minute, Kritina Devi restored the lead to send India to the final.
