Mamun Ul Islam scored in the first half while Atiqur Rahman Meshu and substitute Mithun Chowdhury scored in the dying minutes of the match to please the home crowd. Mamun gave Bangladesh the lead early in the eighth minute capitalizing on a defensive error from Nepali defenders. Nepal´s hope of making a comeback was shattered when Meshu doubled the lead in the 88th minute. Chowdhury added the third in the injury time while the U-23 Nepali team was playing in an offensive mode. [break]
With the defeat, Nepal´s hope of repeating the success after 16 years in the regional Games football got a blow. Nepal had won gold medal here in the same venue during the sixth SAF Games in 1993. It was the one and only gold Nepal had won in that edition of the biggest regional sporting event.
Earlier in the first match in the same Group A, Maldives beat Bhutan 1-0. Nepal will take on Maldives on Monday before taking on Bhutan on Wednesday in their next group stage match. Two teams from each of the two groups will qualify for the semifinals. Group B includes India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
Nepal looked disorganized from the very beginning and they almost conceded the second goal in the 18th minute only for goalkeeper Bikash Malla to deny the hosts. Bikash acrobatically saved a shot from eight yards by Md Zahid Hasan Amely.
The 1984 and 1993 champions Nepal improved their game in the later part of the first half creating a few chances. Yogesh Shrestha could not meet a wonderful chance in the 27th minute when Anil fed him up in the far post. However, Shrestha reacted late and could not reach the ball. Anil also headed wide in a cross from Yogesh in the 39th minute. Nepal Police Club forward Jumanu Rai also wasted a chance in the 42nd minute.
Chetan Ghimire was replaced by Bhola Silwal after he sustained injuries in the 44th minute. Nepal failed to pile pressure in the second half despite making some attractive moves. With time running out, they were forced to play attacking football, but in the process they conceded the second goal. Unmarked Meshu headed home from a corner kick and Chowdhury sealed the emphatic win with the third goal in the injury time. Mithun scored in a one-versus-one as goalkeeper Bikash Malla moved forward from his position.
Nepal coach Yugambar Suwal said that his players could not continue the game as planned. "We also missed many opportunities," said the Nepal coach. All Nepal Football Association President Ganesh Thapa said that inexperience of playing in front of the Bangladeshi home crowd was the reason for the defeat. Apart from two gold medals, Nepal have also won two silver and as many bronze medals in the SAG.
Nepal´s hope in squash singles ends
Nepal´s hope in squash singles events was shattered during the 11th South Asian Games being held in Dhaka on Saturday.
Hira Bahadur Thapa and Tak Kumar Tilija both could not cross the first round and suffered loss to Bangladeshi players. Masud Rana defeated Hira Bahadur 11-3, 11-7, 4-11, 10-12, 11-7 in a five-set match played at the Dhaka Club, Romna. Sixteen-time national champion Hira Bahadur could not read the nature of the court and lost the first two sets 3-11 and 7-11. Hira made a comeback in the third set and won 11-4. The fourth set of the game turned into a marathon. Masud was ahead by 10-8 at one point but Hira saved the game point and turned it in his favor. Hira won the fourth set 12-10. In the final set, Hira and Masud both were 7 each at a point but the Bangladeshi managed to win the fifth and final set 11-7.
Hira said he is happy about his performance and he will fight in the team event. "I tried but could not win it; the court was too foreign for me´, said Hira. ´From today´s experience, I can come strong in the team event," added Hira.
Squash coach Dhurba Bahadur Gurung cited three reasons in Hira´s loss. "He could not read the court immediately and lost the first two sets," said Dhurba. "Likewise, his age factor and short-term training are other two reasons for this result," added Dhurba.
Likewise, Tak Bahadur Tilija lost to another Bangladeshi player Shopon Pervez. Tak Bahadur lost the first two sets 11-3 and 11-5. Tak tried to make a comeback but failed and lost the third set 12-10. He also cited unfamiliar court and unfamiliar bounce for the loss.
Nepal´s disastrous performance in hockey
Nepal suffered a huge defeat against India in the opening match of hockey in the 11th South Asian Games. India defeated Nepal 21-0 in the match played at the Moulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium.
India scored the first goal in just 40 seconds of the game through Yuvaraj. Then, India outclassed Nepal in every department of the game and added 20 more goals. Yuvaraj and Mohammad scored 3 goals each while skipper Ajitesh added 5 for India. Ragunath, Promod and Hamza scored 2 goals each while Belsajar, Innocent, Roshan and Dharam added one each.
Nepal´s hockey coach Bijen Sharma said he is satisfied with the result. "We are playing international hockey after 15 years and we didn´t have practice of playing in the turf. Our players have practiced in the turf for 13 days only in Luknow. In such condition how could I expect a better result?" said Sharma.
Nepali team captain Rajendra Bahadur Chand praised goalkeeper Chandra Singh Thalal for his performance. "Chandra played superb, otherwise we might have conceded more goals," said Rajendra.
Since India are hosting the World Hockey Championship, they are not playing their full national team in SAG.
Playing international hockey after 15 years Nepal suffered the huge margin loss. Nepal had played their last international hockey match in the Seventh South Asian Games 1995 held in Madras, India. Nepal had suffered an 18-0 loss to India, 22-1 to Pakistan and 4-0 to Sri Lanka then.
Nepal will take on Pakistan on Sunday in the next round-robin match. Nepal will take on Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on February 2 and 3 respectively.
India secure first gold in SAG
India became the first team to secure a gold in the 11th South Asian Games underway in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
India won the gold in women´s 30 kilometer Road Team Trial on the second day of the SAG on Saturday.
Indian team clocked 44 minutes 22.15 second while Pakistan got silver and Sri Lanka stood third for bronze.
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