KATHMANDU: Despite securing third position in the group, Nepal managed to progress into the 2nd round of AFC Women's Olympic Qualifiers 2020 as one of the best third-placed teams, in the competition.

In a do-or-die match against Bangladesh today, Nepal were held to a 1-1 draw at Thunuwa Stadium in Yangon of Myanmar.

Nepal's skipper Niru Thapa broke the deadlock on the 17th minute before Akhil Khatun rescued a point for Bangladesh in the dying seconds of the second half in an exhilarating contest.

Before facing Nepal today, Bangladesh had suffered a 7-1 defeat to India.

After securing three consecutive draws, Nepal accumulated three points from as many games and qualified into the next round as one of the best third-placed teams in the competition.

Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Myanmar, Philippines, along with two best third-placed teams Nepal and Palestine join Vietnam and Uzbekistan in the next round of the qualifiers to be held next April.

Earlier, Nepal had played a 1-1 draw against the hosts Myanmar and India. Nepal are pitted in Group C along with India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.