Kathmandu, November 3:

Sri Lanka defeated Nepal 5-1 in the final of the Surya Nepal Ninth SAARC Golf Championship here at the Le Meridien Gokarna Forest Golf Resort and Spa today.

Played under match play format, Sri Lanka won two matches and halved one.

The match between Rupak Acharya and K Prabagaran was exciting as the Sri Lankan won the first hole with a birdie and Acharya matched with a birdie in the fifth. Nepal’s Acharya lost the sixth and won eighth and ninth holes, going one up.

Acharya extended his lead winning the 11th but lost 12th, 13th and 15th to go one down. He then made a birdie on the 17th to square the match and the last hole was halved to share points.

In the match between Mithun Perera and Rabi Khadka, Perera won the first hole then made a birdie to win the fifth and again won the seventh before losing the eighth to Khadka. Perera made a birdie on the ninth to go three up in the front nine.

In the back nine, Khadka won four holes and lost three but the damage was done in the front nine and lost the match after the 17th hole.

In the Losers’ Match, Bangladesh came first among the ousted teams.

Wang Yi won the Friendship Cup ahead Syed Rafiul Hasan of Bangladesh and Tendi Sherpa.

In the ladies section, Kesang Lama beat Eu Hazur Thapa on count back after they were tied at 32 points. Min Gu Cho won the longest drive and closest to the pin awards. Nepal’s Rabindra Man Shrestha won the match played among the team managers.