India crashed out of the SAFF Women’s Championship 2024 when it went down to Nepal 2-4 in penalty shoot-outs in the semifinals played at the Dasharath Stadium on Sunday.
Nepal will play Bangladesh in the final, which thrashed Bhutan 7-1 in the other semifinal, earlier in the day.
Played in front of a packed house, the shoot-out was applied after regulation time ended in a 1-1 draw in a match that witnessed more drama off the pitch than inside.
Once India took the lead in the 62nd minute through Sangita Basfore’s brilliant shot from well outside the box and Nepal scored an “equaliser” that was denied by the referee, the match was held up for more than 70 minutes as the host side refused to continue protesting the referee’s decision.
ALSO READ: India loses 2-3 to Thailand, knocked out of race for U-17 AFC Asian Cup 2025
The referee Om Choki from Bhutan waited patiently for more than hour and after discussion between the supervising officials and the Nepal team, the match resumed.
Seconds after the match resumed, Nepal equalised through Sabitra Bhandari, the record goalscorer of her country that ultimately proved crucial in stretching the game beyond 90 minutes.
In the tie-breaker, Nepal managed to convert all four of their initial attempts, while only Manisha and Karishma Shirvoikar could find the target for India.
Skipper Ashalata Devi and Ranjana Chanu were the two who missed for the Blue Tigresses.
Comments
SHARE