Nepal finished second in the SAFF Championship after a 3-0 defeat by India in the finals on Saturday.

In the match played at the National Stadium in Male, Maldives, Sunil Chhetri, Suresh Singh and Sahal Abdul Samad's goals downed Nepal.

Having reached the finals for the first time, Nepal's hopes of winning the SAFF Championship were dashed.

After a goalless first half, Sunil Chhetri headed India's first in the 49th minute. Just a minute later Suresh Singh's shot was deflected off Dinesh Rajbanshi beyond the reach of diving Kiran Kumar Limbu. Sahal Abdul Samad scored the final minute of regular time and wrapped India their eighth SAFF Championship title.

Nawayug Shrestha missed a glorious opportunity to give Nepal the lead in the sixth minute when he hit the upright from Suman Lama's cross. Playing in the pouring rain, Rohit Chand slipped and fell while trying to control the ball in the 17th. Nawayug shot in the 27th minute was straight to the Indian keeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

Manish Dangi, coming in with the score line at 2-0, brought some spark into Nepal's attack but his shots did not trouble the opposition post. Rohit Chand had the best opportunity in the game when his header in the 77th minute hit the tip of the bar and went wide.

Despite result, it still is a remarkable achievement for Nepali football when they reached the finals for the first time in their history. Nepal had never reached the final before.

This news was published on ANFA official website on 2021-10-16 and for original news link, click here