Bangladesh women script history, clinch SAFF title

Bangladesh defeated Nepal by 3-1 in the final at Dasharath Rangasala Stadium in Nepal on Monday and lifted the SAFF Women's Championship trophy for the first time.

SAFF finally got a new champion in its sixth edition after India's one-sided dominance in the first five competitions. On the other hand, Nepal had to stay happy with the runners-up trophy for the fifth time.

Bangladesh got a flying start as they found the net early. In the 13th minute of the match, the visitors took the lead. A brilliant cross from Monika Chakma found Shamsunnahar inside the box and she did no mistake to make the scoreline 1-0 for her side.

However, after conceding that goal, the hosts became aggressive and were trying to equalise the scoreline. But before halftime, they conceded another one as Krishna Rani Sorkar scored the second goal for Bangladesh in the 42nd minute. Captain Sabina Khatun was the assist provider.

Nepal were desperate to come back into the game and became successful once. In the 70th minute, they pulled one back but things got worse for Nepal when Krishna Rani found the net again in the 77th minute and snatched the victory away from them.

Sabina slammed eight goals in this tournament while Bangladesh scored 23 and conceded only one against Nepal in the final.

Bangladesh earlier blanked Maldives by 3-0 in their group opening match, thrashed Pakistan 6-0 in their second match and defeated defending champions India by 3-0 goals to book their spot in the semifinal as the group A champions.

The girls in red and green confirmed their spot in the semifinal after crushing Bhutan by 8-0 goals in the first semifinal.