Nepal fail to end trophy drought, lose 1-3 against India

KATHMANDU: Nepal's quest for their first SAFF Women's Championship trophy ended in disappointment after India lifted the title with a 3-1 win against Nepal at Shahid Rangashala in Biratnagar on Friday.

Nepal who had not conceded a single goal in course of the tournament admitted three in the final match after failing to hold defences against their formidable opponent.

Dalima Chibbar opened the accounts for India in the 23rd minute after converting a free-kick from foul by Nepali defenders near 30 yards.

Nepal found the net in the 33rd minute with a six-yard-header from Sabitra Bhandari who shared the top-scorer title with India's Indumati Katheresan with four goals.

Both the teams went to half-time with scores tied at 1-1.

In the 62nd minute, Grace Dangmei capitalised on Nepal's defensive slip and ran past Goalkeeper Anjila Subba into the box and shot to goal giving India a 2-1 lead.

Also, Anju Tamang ran rampant over Nepal's defence in the dying embers of the match and struck a fatal blow to Nepal's title hopes taking the tally to 3-1.

Despite mounting substantial pressure against India's defensive lineup, Nepal - as the day ended - had to settle for runner up title yet again.

With this, Nepal has clashed with India in the SAFF Women's Championship finals for four times without a win in their records.

On the contrary, India has retained the champions' title for the fifth time continuing their dominance in South Asian Women's football.