KATHMANDU: Nepal Basketball Association is going to organise the first ever South Asian Women's Basketball from March 29 to April 2 in Kathmandu.

At a press conference organised by the Association on Friday, President Tendi Sherpa said that players from five South Asian countries would participate in the match.

Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sir Lanka and the Maldives are going to take part in the competition. India and Pakistan would not participate due to own internal reasons, he added.

According to Sherpa, women's basketball competitions were held only at the Asian level. "It is a matter of pride that Nepal is going to organise it at the South Asian level," commented Sherpa.

Nepal's national basketball team coach Bikash Shahi expressed his confidence over the excellent performance of Nepali players and stated that they were trained at various training centres in India and Thailand and have been under training back home.

Sadina Shrestha, captain of Nepali national team, said that her team would aim to emerge winners in the competition.