Kathmandu, October 18

Nepal began the first South Asian U-16 Netball Championship campaign with one each win and loss here at the Nepali Army Sports Complex today.

The home team beat Pakistan 38-13 in their first match of the maiden girls’ event of the region. Ojaswi Niraula top scored for Nepali with 13 goals. In another match, Nepal faced a 35-27 defeat at the hands of Maldives, in which Aminath Aniney was the star with 24 goals.

India also had similar fate on the first day of the tournament. India defeated Maldives 41-21. Anjali Kumari scored 38 goals alone to guide India to victory.

In another match, Sri Lanka beat India 40-24. Hiruni Hesani top scored for Sri Lanka with 25 goals.

A total of five teams, one each from Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives, are taking part in the tournament organised by Nepal Netball Association. Earlier, Youth and Sports Minister Jagat Bahadur Sunar inaugurated the tournament.