KASKI: Nepal was defeated by India 1–0 in the SAFF U-19 Women’s Championship football that kicked off today in Pokhara.

The first half of the match, held at the football ground in Pokhara Stadium, ended goalless. In the fourth minute of the second half, the goal scored by India’s Pearl Fernandez became the decisive goal of the match.

Nepal tried to fight back after falling behind by one goal but could not succeed. India, disappointing the home team Nepal, managed to add three points in their first match. Nepal will now play their second match against Bhutan on Monday.

Earlier, in the first match held today, Bangladesh defeated Bhutan with a wide margin of 12–0. Bangladesh scored four goals in the first half and added eight more in the second half. Bangladesh’s Munki Akhtar scored four goals, while Srimoti Trishna Rani and Alpi Akhtar each scored three goals. Mamoni Chakka and Arpita Biswas contributed one goal each.

Four teams are participating in the tournament. The competition is coordinated by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) and the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA).

The Championship will be conducted in a ’round robin league’ format, where each team will play one match against every other team. After the league phase of the competition, the top two teams will compete for the title in the final match on February 7.