KATHMANDU, Oct 27:
Nepal stormed into the final of the SAFF Women’s Championship on Sunday defeating India 4-2 on penalties in a tense semifinal match, thanks to the heroics of substitute goalkeeper Anjana Rana Magar.
After the regular time of the controversial match in which hosts Nepal were disallowed a goal ended in a 1-1 draw at the Dasharath Stadium, the match was decided through a penalty shootout. While India’s captain Asha Lata Devi hit the post with the very first spot kick, Rana Magar blocked an attempt of another Indian player Ranjana Chanu to boost Nepal’s chances of victory. While Manisha and Purushottam Shirovkar of India scored from the spot for the visitors, all four Nepali players – Sabitra Bhandari, Gita Rana, Sabita Rana Magar and Amisha Karki scored in the tie-breaker for the hosts.
As Karki scored the last spot kick to ensure Nepal’s victory, the home crowd erupted in joy after much drama during the regular time of the match in which Nepal’s Rekha Poudel was unfairly sent off.
The match turned tense early in the second half after the referee gave the marching order to Nepal’s forward Paudel in the 50th minute.
Despite a competitive start to the game between the two title contenders at the Dasharath Stadium, the match took an ugly turn after the assistant referee Choden Chhiring allegedly misjudged Paudel of having committed a foul and the main referee Om Choki seconded the decision by giving her a yellow card. As the enraged Nepali player argued with the referee, she was given a second yellow card and had to leave the pitch as tensions ran high with thousands of home crowd chanting slogans against the unfair decision.
Video replays showed that Paudel fell down while attempting to steal the ball from behind India’s R Chonki but there were no signs of foul play. This further enraged the home crowd and the match was suspended for 13 minutes.
Taking advantage of 10-member Nepali women’s team, India’s Sangeeta Basfour scored a goal in the 62nd minute to give India the lead. The home side was under intense pressure after conceding the goal and Preeti Rai hit back an equalizer immediately. However, the referee did not recognize the goal after India contested the decision and the stadium turned tense once again. The disappointed crowd chanted ‘referee out’. The referee’s decision caused match disruption again.
Once the disputes were settled after almost 71 minutes, the match resumed. Soon after the game started, Sabitra Bhandari lived up to her expectation as the star player of Nepal and scored the much-needed equalizer for the hosts in the 66th minute to remain in contention for the title.
In the post-match conference, Bhandari, who is better known as Samba, said that the victory was possible due to the support of the spectators.
With this victory, Nepal will next face defending champions Bangladesh who earlier booked a place in the final with a 7-1 win over Bhutan.
So far, Nepal has reached the final of SAFF Women’s Championship five times but is yet to win the title. India is the most successful team in the Women's SAFF Championship winning the title five times but had to bow out unceremoniously in this edition in the match marred by controversy.
