KATHMANDU: Nepal U-23 coach Raju Kaji Shakya, who as the captain had led the Nepali team in the 1993 South Asian Games in Dhaka to win the gold medal in men's football, has expressed his desire to repeat the history by defeating India in the finals and clinch the gold medal for Nepal.

Nepal are taking on the hosts at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium at 7:15 pm NST on Monday.

"As a player I always wanted to defeat India in their home soil, but back then there weren’t many games taking place in India," Shakya said, acknowledging India as a dominating force in South Asian football.

"Now, as a coach I want to achieve that goal," he said, on the eve of the final showdown at Shillong.

Nepal sailed into the finals defeating Maldives 4-3 in sensational semifinal match yesterday. Nawayug Shrestha scored hat-trick, his second in the tournament, to rescue 10-man Nepal that were lagging 2-3 in the extra-time. Shrestha scored two goals in the dying moments of the crucial fixture to complete his hat-trick.

“Our players have the potentials to do it. This point has been proven several times in the last few months. The win yesterday was a result of hard-work and team effort. We achieved the victory despite being a man down. The victory has certainly given us the belief that hard-work yields best results,” said Shakya.

Meanwhile, Nepal skipper Biraj Maharjan likened tomorrow’s finals to the FIFA World Cup, according to All Nepal Football Association (ANFA).

“I feel we are playing the finals of the World Cup tomorrow. It is that important for us. Against Maldives, we showed our fighting character," said Maharjan, adding that it was an enthralling match that saw Nepal leading in the first half and pushed on the back foot in the extra-time. "We scored twice in the last three minutes to win the match," he said.

“The boys gave their best despite injuring themselves. We were exhausted but still did not lose hope and kept on going. The win has motivated all of us. And we believe that we will put up a spirited performance tomorrow as well. We want to win this title and make people back home happy,” said Maharjan.

Nepali women's team are also vying for the gold medal tomorrow.

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