Sports
Nepal eye semi-final spot with Maldives scalp
Nepal will set their eyes on the semi-finals when they meet Maldives in the second Group ‘A’ match of the fourth Saff Women’s Championship in Siliguri, India on Wednesday.Parbat Portel
Nepal will set their eyes on the semi-finals when they meet Maldives in the second Group ‘A’ match of the fourth Saff Women’s Championship in Siliguri, India on Wednesday.
A victory at the Kanchenjunga Stadium will put Nepal into the semi-finals irrespective of the outcome in their last league game against Sri Lanka. However, the condition applies same for Maldives for whom a victory will also guarantee a spot in the last four. While Nepal had begun the tournament with an 8-0 crushing of Bhutan, Maldives had eased past Sri Lanka 5-2 in their opener.
Nepal coach Kumar Thapa doesn’t want his girls to get carried away by the dominant display against the Bhutanase side. “Maldives have had a good start in the tournament and they would like to secure a place in the last four. Although we won against Bhutan comfortable, we start all square against Maldives tomorrow (on Wednesday),” said Thapa.
“We will remain focused in our performance and try to take control of the game. It depends on how our girls
fare on the match day. If they do well, I am sure the result will be in our favour,” added Thapa who is in his first assignment after taking over the team.
Skipper Renuka Nagarkote didn’t want to take Maldives lightly. “Maldives are comparatively better than Bhutan but we have to go out there and play to win the game. If we play with teamwork, then we can return with victory. We will plan our game according to our opponents,” said Nagarkote.
Striker Sabitra Bhandari was ominous in the match against Bhutan scoring five goals and setting for two other chances. Bhandari wants her team to get better with every match. “We will display a better game than how we did against Bhutan. We know that we cannot take our opponents lightly but I believe we are better than Maldives in terms of both rankings and performance,” said Bhandari.