KATHMANDU: Nepal registered a thumping 8–0 victory over Sri Lanka in their second match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers on Wednesday.

Star forward Sabitra Bhandari (Samba) scored a first-half hat-trick, while Geeta Rana netted twice.

Nisha Thokar, Rekha Paudel, and Pooja Rana added one goal each to seal the dominant win.

The match kicked off at 6:15 PM Nepal time at the Milliy Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Geeta Rana gave Nepal an early lead in the 7th minute.

Bhandari then struck in the 20th, 42nd, and 44th minutes to complete her hat-trick before halftime. The third goal marked her 64th international goal in her 60th match.

Nepal continued the goal spree in the second half, with Geeta scoring her second goal via penalty in the 54th minute.

Nisha Thokar (62′), Rekha Paudel (78′), and Pooja Rana (89′) each scored to complete the rout.

Nepal had earlier defeated Laos 9–0 in their opening match, while Sri Lanka had suffered a heavy 10–0 defeat to host Uzbekistan.

Nepal remains unbeaten against Sri Lanka in all eight encounters so far.

In the FIFA women’s rankings, Nepal stands at 100th, 59 places ahead of Sri Lanka, which is ranked 159th.

The qualifiers are being held in a round-robin format. The group winner will secure a place in the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia.

Nepal will face host Uzbekistan in their final group match on Saturday.