BIRATNAGAR: The organisers of the Women’s SAFF Championship failed to play the national anthem of the Maldives before the start of the match against India.

After a couple of minutes of silence as the technicians struggled to play the anthem, emcee Sanjeeb Shilpakar, who is also the General Secretary of Ruslan Three Star Club, requested the players of the Maldives to sing their national anthem on their own and handed over the mike.

The 11 players of the Maldives, who were lined up to play the match, sang the national anthem before the kick off. “It was a technical problem as the laptop used for the purpose did not work after India’s anthem was played,” said an official.