Sports
Olympic Qualifier: Nepal women to fine tune preparations
Nepali women’s football team will on Friday leave for China to play three friendly matches with the local teams as part of their preparations for the Asian Qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.Nepali women’s football team will on Friday leave for China to play three friendly matches with the local teams as part of their preparations for the Asian Qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Apart from friendly games, Nepal will also undergo training in China before leaving for Myanmar to participate in the Group ‘C’ Qualifier set for November 8-13.
Nepal will play against Beijing Phoenix Female Football Team on October 29 and 31 before competing against Beijing Sports University on October 30. The Nepali team is scheduled to depart for Myanmar on November 2.
Among the 22-member Nepali squad for China tour, five will return after completion of the training camp in China while three players of the U-19 national squad, currently in Thailand for the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifier, will join them. Former national captain Hari Khadka is the coach and Mrigendra Mishra is the goalkeeping coach. Kamala Hirachan is the manager and Dirgha Bahadur KC the team leader. National Sports Council Member Secretary Keshab Kumar Bista and All Nepal Football Association officials bade farewell to the team on Thursday.
Nepal are drawn with India, Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Group ‘C’. Nepal will take on against India on November 8, Myanmar on November 11 and Bangladesh two days later. The winners of the all four groups and two best runners-up will join Uzbekistan and Vietnam in the Round Two Qualifier to be held next April.
As hosts of the Tokyo Olympics, 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup winners Japan will qualify automatically for the 2020 Finals.