Nepali eves on Wednesday left for Bhutan to compete in the inaugural edition of the SAFF U-18 Women’s Championship to be held from September 28 to October 7 in Thimphu.

Drawn in Group ‘B’ of the tournament alongside Pakistan and Bangladesh, Nepal have set an ambitious goal of claiming the title. The other group consists of India, Maldives and hosts Bhutan. The team finishing at the bottom of the group after round robin league will be eliminated while the top two progress into the semi-finals.

Nepal have pinned their hopes on a back of nearly two-month long training and head coach Hari Om Shrestha believes his side is capable of winning the maiden title. “We have undergone decent preparation of more than one and half month for the tournament. The team is comprised of the best players from across the country. Some of the players have even played for the national side. Thus we are not leaving for Bhutan just to make the numbers,” said the former Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) coach.

Goalkeeper Anjana Rana Magar and midfielders Saru Limbu and Manjali Kumari Yonjan are the members of the current national squad. Prakash Baidhya is the assistant coach and Asmita Khawas is the goalkeeping coach. Nepal will open their campaign against Pakistan on Friday and Bangladesh on Monday. Coach Shrestha believes his side was capable of beating both the opponents though he took Bangladesh as the tough opponents.

Skipper Saru Limbu seconded her coach saying the one and only target for the team was bringing home the winners’ trophy. “The training had gone well for us. Hopefully we will head back home with the title,” she said.

Nepali Squad

Nisha Thokar, Manisha Raut, Samjhana Lawati, Suvadra Kalikote Khadka, Asmita Baidhya, Rasmi Kumari Ghising, Rabita Kumari Rai, Anjana Rana Magar, Usha Nath, Suwani Kuswar, Kopila Dhimal, Rojina Shrestha, Manjali Kumari Yonjan, Alisa Jimba, Sushma Maharjan, Samiksha Ghimire, Poonam Pharswan, Sirjana Singh, Samjhana Sharma, Rekha Poudel, Puja Rana, Saru Limbu, Bimala BK