Kathmandu, December 17

Nepal faced a 6-0 defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in the opening match of the SAFF U-15 Women’s Championship at the Bir Shrestho Mostofa Kamal Stadium in Dhaka today.

Tohura Khatun completed a hat-trick, while Anuching Mogini scored a brace and Monica Chakma added one for the hosts. In another match, India defeated Bhutan 3-0.

The hosts dominated the match from the beginning as Chakma opened the scoring in the 11th minute. Mogini doubled the tally two minutes later and Khatun made it 3-0 in the 32nd minute. Bangladesh went into the break with a commanding 4-0 lead after Mogini scored her second and team’s fourth goal in the injury time of first half. After the break, Khatun added two more goals in the 69th and 72nd minutes to complete her hat-trick.

Nepali team head coach Ganga Gurung said her side lost the match due to poor defense. “We will try to improve on the mistakes we did in our upcoming matches and we will come up with a different approach against India,” said Gurung. Bangladesh coach Rabbani Chhoton said the home team won the match after players performed as per the plan.

Nepal will play their second match against India on Tuesday. A total of four teams are competing in the tournament being played under round robin format. After the league round, top two teams will advance to the final.