Feb 15, 2016- Nepal will be looking to end the 23-year title drought in South Asian Games football competition when they cross swords with perennial rivals India at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Guwahati, India, on Monday.
Nepal’s previous SA Games football gold medals came at home in 1984 with a 4-2 victory over Bangladesh and against India on penalties after a 2-2 stalemate in Dhaka in 1993. Nepal’s current coach Raju Kaji Shakya was the skipper of the side that won the gold in 1993. Having been a part of the national team in 1984, Shakya is now keen to rewrite history in a different role. “We had always wanted to defeat India in their backyard and that opportunity has knocked on our doors,” he said on the eve of the match.
India made a tentative start to their campaign with a 1-0 loss to Sri Lanka but bounced back to beat Maldives 3-2 to reach the semi-finals as group runners-up. They improved on their performance and were clinical against Bangladesh in a 3-0 victory. On the other hand, Nepal were off to a flying start, crushing Bhutan 5-0 before losing to Bangla-desh 2-1 to finish as group runners-up. Shakya’s wards squandered a 2-0 advantage against Maldives before staging one of the great comebacks to win 4-3 and secure their place in the final.
Shakya knows they are in for a tough battle against the home side. “India are the best team in South Asia and they have been playing really well at the Games. It won’t be easy playing them, with a partisan home crowd rooting them to the hilt,” he said.
But after a great comeback against Maldives, according to Shakya, there is a belief now coursing through the entire Nepali side that they can win an elusive third title. “We are playing a match where one victory will help us lift the trophy. If only we replicate our performance against Maldives, we will definitely return home with gold,” he added.
Nepal are pinning hopes on striker Nawayug Shrestha, who heads into the final on a fine run of form. Shrestha completed a hat-trick--his third in a month in all competitions--to give Nepal the thrilling semi-final win on Saturday.
Nepal can return home with double gold in football if the women’s team also manage to prevail over India in the title clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong. It will be the fourth meeting between the two sides in the SA Games football, where India hold a 3-0 edge in head-to-head with one game ending in a draw.
But Nepali women’s team coach Dhruba KC remains undaunted. “India have always been winning the regional titles. So the pressure will be on them, not us. They are a balanced side whose level is way above us. But we believe we can beat them.” The Nepali eves, who had lost 3-1 to India in the 2010 final, held them to a goalless draw in the round robin league.
And the Indian camp is not taking them lightly. “It will be a test of our focus and concentration as Nepal have a tendency of stretching their opponents to their limits,” India team head coach Sajid Dar said.
Sourece : http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/
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