SATV 16 July Kathmandu: Inspired by a hat-trick from Mina Deuba, Nepal secured a comfortable 7–0 victory over Sri Lanka to register their second win in the ongoing South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U-20 Women’s Championship.

The match, held at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka, Bangladesh, began an hour late due to heavy rainfall. In their third game of the double round-robin league, Nepal dominated Sri Lanka with a commanding performance.

Mina netted three goals, while Purnima Rai scored twice. Sarita Kumari Nath and Samikshya Magar added one goal each. Nepal had earlier defeated Bhutan 6–1 in their opening match but lost narrowly to defending champions Bangladesh 3–2 in their second game. In another match held on Tuesday, Bangladesh beat Bhutan 4–1.

Against Sri Lanka, Nepal scored five goals in the first half and added two more in the second. Mina gave Nepal an early lead in the 8th minute with a brilliant strike from outside the penalty box, smashing the ball into the top corner after receiving a pass from Sushila KC.

Nepal doubled the lead in the 13th minute when Samikshya capitalized on a failed clearance by a Sri Lankan defender. Striking powerfully from about 18 yards out, her shot—off a pass from Purnima—rattled the net.

In the 42nd minute, Mina added her second. Sri Lankan goalkeeper Tharusika initially parried Maya Maskey’s long-range shot, but Mina slotted in the rebound with a one-touch finish.

Nepal scored two more goals in first-half stoppage time. Both came from Purnima during counterattacks. In the first, she received a through pass from Barsha Oli, dribbled past the defense, and found the net. Minutes later, she netted her second, again controlling a long pass from Barsha to score. With that, she reached six goals in the tournament.

Nepal had to wait for the sixth goal, which came in the 70th minute when Meena completed her hat-trick. The final goal came in injury time through a stunning free-kick from about 25 yards out by Sarita.

No more goals were scored afterward, and Nepal sealed a resounding 7–0 win.

The championship features four nations—Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka—and follows a double round-robin league format. Each team plays the others twice, and the team finishing at the top of the table will be crowned champions.

Nepal is scheduled to play Bhutan again on July 19 and will face Bangladesh once more on July 21.