Host Sri Lanka thrashed Nepal 11-2 in the first match of the Beach Games being held at the beach of Hambantota. Nirajan Malla scored both the goals for Nepal while Pradeep Rodrigo scored four goals for Sri Lanka. [break]
Roshan Malinga completed his hat-trick and skipper R Selar scored a brace in the rout. Rohitha Kumara and Denash Nilantha scored a piece for the host.
Sri Lanka led the first half 4-0 and went on to win the second half 7-2 to comfortably seal the match. This is the first time that Nepal featured in beach football.
Manager of the national football team Indra Man Tuladhar said the team has got its first experience of playing beach football.
"The players couldn´t play well in the sand and also due to excessive heat," said Tuladhar and added, "Six hours travel ahead of the match also affected the team´s performance. We hope to perform well in the next match."
In the other matches played on Saturday, Bangladesh defeated the Maldives 8-3.
Nepal will face the Maldives and Bangladesh on Sunday.
In other games on Sunday, Nepal will face India and Sri Lanka in women´s beach basketball.
Likewise, in beach Kabaddi, Nepal will take on Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the men´s category while Nepali women´s team will lock horns with Sri Lanka.
Bronze confirmed in kabaddi
Nepal has confirmed at least one medal in the ongoing South Asian Beach Games. Nepal´s women kabaddi team is sure to receive a bronze medal as only four teams have competed in the event and the bottom two teams will receive bronze medals. If Nepal wins any of the matches against Bangladesh, India and host Sri Lanka, Nepal will have a strong chance of winning a silver medal as well.
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