KATHMANDU: Nepal were held to 1-1 draw by Sri Lanka during the men's football match of the ongoing 13th South Asian Games in Kathmandu, on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka's Mohammad Aakib scored a stunning free-kick from 25 yards in the added minutes of the second half to cancel out Sujal Shrestha's strike in the 36th minute.

Nepal buoyed after defeating Bhutan 4-0 in the earlier fixture, played an attacking game from the word go in front of the full house Dashrath Stadium today.

Hosts Nepal were awarded penalty kick after Ananta Tamang was fouled inside the box and stand-in skipper Sujal Shrestha stepped in to take the kick and coolly dispatched the ball home.

In the dying minutes of the game, Nepal's central defender Ananta Tamang had a chance to put the game to bed but failed to hit the target with his glancing header from the corner kick.

After conceding an equaliser, Nepal pressed men forward in search of a winning goal but to no avail.

Nepal are pitted in Group B along with Bhutan and Sri Lanka.