Kathmandu: Nepal secured a dominant victory in the SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship on Saturday afternoon, hammering Bhutan 8-0, thanks to stunning hat-tricks from forwards Mina Deuba and Purnima Rai.
The emphatic win marked Nepal’s fourth victory of the tournament and propelled them to the top of the standings with 12 points from five matches.
In the match held at the Bashundhara Sports Complex, Mina and Purnima led the attacking charge, while Samikshya Magar and Kusum Khatiwada also added one goal each to the tally.
Nepal came out firing from the first whistle, with Mina scoring the opener in the very first minute. Samikshya doubled the lead in the 9th minute, and Mina struck again in the 12th to make it 3-0.
Purnima then joined the goal fest, scoring in the 23rd minute to push Nepal further ahead. She netted her second during first-half injury time and completed her hat-trick moments later in the sixth minute of added time, giving Nepal a commanding 6-0 lead at the break.
In the second half, Kusum made it 7-0 in the 63rd minute, followed by Mina’s third and final goal just a minute later, completing her hat-trick and sealing the 8-0 score line.
Despite several opportunities, no further goals were added in the remaining minutes. Bhutan, who have managed only 3 points from five matches, remain in third place.
Later today, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are set to face off in another fixture of the championship.
