KATHMANDU: Nepal has made a victorious start in the SAFF Women’s Championship football tournament.

In the match held on Monday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa, India, Nepal defeated Bhutan 1–0.

In a highly competitive match, Gita Rana scored the decisive goal for Nepal.

Her strike in the 23rd minute proved to be enough to secure the victory for the team.

Nepal is placed in Group ‘A’ of the six-team championship, alongside Sri Lanka and Bhutan.

Group ‘B’ consists of the hosts India, Bangladesh, and the Maldives.

Nepal will play its second group-stage match against Sri Lanka on May 31.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.

Nepal, which began its training just two weeks before the tournament, departed for India with strong claims to win the title.