Nepal lose again

KATHMANDU: Both Nepali teams suffered second successive defeats in the 42nd Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan on Saturday. The men’s team went down 3-1 against Nicaragua, while women’s team faced a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Portugal. The 2013-rated FIDE Master Bimal Lal Shrestha produced solitary victory for Nepal beating 2188-rated Nicaragua FM William Alfaro. In other matches, Sajin Maharjan lost to 2348-rated FM Mauro Ampie, 2071-rated Candidate Master Bhupendra Niraula lost to 2175-rated FM Juan Jose Pineda and 2013-rated Kshitiz Bhandari was beaten by 2219-rated Marcos Ortiz. In women’s section, 1574-rated Sindira Joshi faced defeat against 2125-rated Women’s FM Ana Filipa Baptista, while 1632-rated Ashmita Adhikari went down to 2078-rated FM Margarida Coimbra. Similarly, 1740-rated Women’s Candidate Master Monalisha Khamboo lost to 1791-rated CM Rita Maria Osorio and 1693-rated Shanta Thapa faced defeat against 1855-rated Ana Ines Teixeira.