KATHMANDU, MARCH 30

The All Nepal Football Association announced the reward of Rs 100,000 each to the members of the national team that won the Three Nations Cup here at the Dasharath Stadium on Monday.

Nepal defeated Bangladesh 2-1 in the final to bag the first title on home soil in 37 years riding on goals from Sanjog Rai and Bishal Rai. Nepal had not won title at home since the national team lifted the gold medal in the first SAF Games in 1984.

Along with the trophy, the national team won $5,000 and ANFA decided to reward the national team members with Rs 100,000 each. 'We will distribute the prize money among the team members and reward them with Rs 100,000 each from the ANFA's side,' the football governing body said in a release.

Nepal, Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan Olympic Team had taken part in the tournament held from March 23-29. Bangladesh made it to the final following their 1-0 victory over Kyrgyzstan after the second match between Nepal and the Kyrgyz ended in a 0-0 draw.

Nepal played a goalless draw with Bangladesh to enter the final, albeit without scoring a single goal. The two sides met again in the final with the home team taking 2-0 lead in the first half. Bangladesh replied in the second half but the home side survived the late onslaught from the visitors to complete the victory.

Sanjog Rai ended Nepal's seven-match goal drought when he found the back of the nets after a barren run on 675 minutes in his second international match, while Bishal Rai netted his fourth goal in national team jersey. Sanjog Rai was named the man of the match, while Nepal's defender Rohit Chand was declared the most valuable player of the tournament.

The tournament and especially the final match carried more meaning for former skipper Biraj Maharjan as he brought the curtain down on his illustrious 13-year career on winning note. Maharjan, who won record 73 caps for the national team, bowed down with four trophies - AFC Solidarity Cup and Bangabandhu Gold Cup as national team skipper and the 12th South Asian Games as the captain of U-23 side. A version of this article appears in the print on March 31, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.