By a Staff Reporter
Nepal has begun the SAFF U20 Championship campaign with a stunning victory over Maldives. Nepal defeated Maldives 4-0 in Bhubaneswar, India on Monday.
Dipesh Gurung, Sugam Suwal, Kritish Ratna Chhunju and Mangya Nakarmi scored a piece to snatch three points from the opening match at Kalinga Stadium. Gurung opened an account for Nepal by scoring a stunner from almost 25 yards away from the goal post in the 42nd minute. Skipper Ayush Ghalan’s free kick was punched away by the Maldives goalkeeper and Gurung converted the ball in rebound.
Likewise, in the 58th minute, Nepal doubled its lead through Suwal, who returned to Nepal from Denmark to participate in the open trial for Nepal U20 team. Similarly, Chhunju increased Nepal’s goal tally to 3 through a penalty in the 62nd minute. Nepal got a penalty after Skipper Ghalan was fouled in the penalty box by the Maldivian defender Hussain Shaavin. Moreover, Managya Nakarmi ensured the team’s victory by scoring the fourth goal in the fourth minute of injury time. He entered the field in the 83rd minute in place of Chhunju.
The Nepali youth team Goalkeeper Ishwor Gurung displayed an incredible performance in the match. He denied numerous goal scoring opportunities for Maldives. Under the leadership of Ghalan, a regular member of senior National Team, Nepali youth team presented a dominant performance in their first outing.
The championship, which was previously held under the name of SAFF U19 and SAFF U18, is now being held under the name of SAFF U20 Championship. Nepal had won the first two editions while India had won the latest edition.
Nepal’s Fixtures:
Nepal VS Sri Lanka: July 27, 2022
Nepal VS India: July 31, 2022
Nepal VS Bangladesh: August 2, 2022
Final: August 5 , 2022
Nepal’s Squad:
Goalkeeper: Ishwor Gurung, Unesh Chaudhary, Jiyarath Seikh
Defenders: Amar Shrestha, Sonit Dahal, Aayush Shrestha, Ajay Chaudhary, Sumit Shrestha, Srijan Dhani, Roshan Thapa, Abhishek Waiba
Midfielders: Dipesh Gurung, Aashish Rai, Sandeep Karki, Janmajay Dhami, Mohit Gurung, Kritish Ratna Chhunju, Sugam Suwal, Managya Nakarmi, Aayush Ghalan
Forward: Rohit Subba, Niranjan Malla, Rohan Khadgi
Head Coach: Meghraj KC
Assistant Coach: Balgopal Sahukhal
Goalkeeping Coach: Ujwal Manandhar
Team Manager: Diwakar Ghale
Team Physiotherapist: Lokendra Kunwar
