mysportsmysports

The   recently   concluded   9 th edition of the South Asian Federation   Football   Championship in New Delhi, India   was Nepal’s   last international outing of 2011. 2011 in retrospect, was   this   a   good or bad year for Nepali football?   Whether   you agree or not, it was an unproductive, frustrating and ordinary year.  I wish it was just the opposite. Speaking of international engagements, the national team   had   a   busy   schedule year around. They participated   in   three   major   tournaments   and achieved some degree of success. Also   the team   undertook   a   four- nation Asian tour as part of preparation for the SAFF Championship. British coach Graham Roberts   who took over the national team in   January 2011 had mixed results and faces big challenges ahead. The 2014 World Cup Qualifiers to start with. Of the four matches three took place in Nepal, and   our first round   double header kicked off against lowly East Timor. We chalked   up   two contrasting w

India’s domination of the South Asian Football Federation Championship was unchallenged in the recently   held edition in   New Delhi, India. In an anti-climax final they   prevailed   over a defiant Afghanistan 4-0. India made an unimpressive start but finished off   strong   in a competition that lacked genuine quality. The kind of football one witnessed is a grim reminder   to all of us that South Asian countries   have a lot of catching up to do with the rest of the world. The action can be   best   summed up   in one sentence:  it was mediocre,   listless   and   drab.  Most games were   played at a leisurely   pace and never rose to dizzy heights in terms of   excellence   and thrill. Evidently   every   team   struggled to find their rhythm, tempo   and   momentum, and   they never really got going. There was one common   denominator   ; however,   the teams were on an equal footing when it came to   approach, style and standards. Nothing   much separated the teams for most

A  brilliant solo run by Balal Arezoo who sprinted past three  defenders  broke the deadlock  in the 100 th minute of extra- time  to  put Afghanistan  in their first ever  final of the SAFF Championship in New Delhi, India. A rare defensive error   on our part sealed the deal for Afghanistan in a   grueling and pulsating 120 minutes of action.  The dependable defensive trio of    Sandip, Sagar and Rohit   were caught flat- footed and lacked the pace to prevent the   speedy Afghani from finding the net. The   defeat   ended   our dream   run, and our hope to end a 12 year championship drought is put on hold.  My heart goes out   to   the   youngsters.  I know how   much it hurts   to concede   a game of this magnitude that  we should have won. Coach Graham   Roberts and his boys’ desperateness    to thrive was   explicable from the onset of the competition.  Indisputably   , they   played   robust and attractive football to win the hearts   and   minds of   fans and pundits alike.

Nepal is locked in an intriguing semi-final duel against an impressive Afghanistan for a place in the final of the SAFF Championship in New Delhi, India. Afghanistan topped   Group A, following their 8-1 destruction of minnows Bhutan. While the other semi-final is between   host India and Maldives. Afghanistan’s 1-1 draw against India in the opener was considered a fluke by many in the football circle. However, they proved doubters wrong in their last two matches, which they won   rather convincingly.  So far   their performance has been the highlight of the championship. Considering Afghanistan’s uncertain state of the affairs, the kind of progress they have made   in sports like football and cricket is incredible.   In a short period of time   they have made their presence felt in a significant way. Withstanding   adverse   circumstances, Afghani   athletes    are engaged in competitive sports, nationally and internationally. Their resiliency, hard work and dedication   to   stri

O vercoming a spell of   jittery   moments Nepal hung on to an impressive   1-1 draw against Pakistan in the ongoing SAFF Championship in New Delhi. When the referee   blew the long whistle signaling the end of   the game, I was one happy camper. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that we were still in contention for   the   trophy that has eluded us so long. Prior to that   I   was   somewhat   edgy   and   chose   to keep my fingers crossed.  I did not want to take anything for granted.   A defeat was unthinkable   but based on how we have been playing I was optimistic for a good result. Having said that, I   was not ready to write   them off. All Pakistan   needed was a victory to upset our applecart.   To be fair that possibility could not be ruled out. Thankfully, they fell short of the target much to my joy. Hard to believe that   it took us twelve long   years to reach this stage of the championship. I expected   my   team   to play aggressively, which they did.  Otherwise,

Had it not been the spectacular last minute goal off   the   boot   of   skipper   Sagar Thapa   it would have been another disappointment for Nepal in the ongoing SAFF Championship in New Delhi. The perfect   long   ranger   literally curved into the right corner of the net to   earn   Nepal a well deserved   victory. Incredibly, a fantastic goal to remember for a long time. With this important win Nepal   finds   herself in the brink of qualifying to the last four. For the second   successive match Nepal dished out a dominant performance. The   boys   came out firing on all cylinders and   seemed   determined to carve out a victory. Not only   did   they   tackle the physically superior opponent   deftly   but gave them a run for their money all the way to the end. Speaking of Bangladesh, I expected a much better performance and thought they would come out strong against us. Once again   organized and confident play by the defense and mid-field contributed to our   fine performan

As a staunch supporter   I wanted Nepal to get off to a  dream start in the opener against fancied Maldives in the ongoing SAFF Championship in New Delhi, India.  I had my head scratching, following Sri Lanka’s opening goal at the fag end of the first half. Thanks to central defender Sandip’s   magnificent header in the    opening minutes of the second half we were able to restore parity. Although   the match concluded in a 1-1 draw, clearly, we should have prevailed considering the fact that we controlled the proceedings   from start to end. Without a doubt we were the better side in every department of the game and had the opponent frantically defend their citadel. The boys   played   aggressively   and spiritedly, and  they never  allowed  the   opponent to settle down. The defense   looked rock solid and held their ground. The mid-fielders   came up big, especially Bijay Gurung   who marshaled the moves   with clinical precision. Upcoming  Rabin Shrestha was another player  to