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After two successive defeats,the men’s national football team of Nepal is on the cusp of exiting from the 2018 Asian Games  in Indonesia. Having lost the opener to Japan,Nepal went down to Vietnam 0-2 without a fight. Yet another disappointment, sadly. There is no excuse for the latest setback,which was no surprise. Let us concede to the fact that Nepal lost to a better opponent that played a more positive,attacking and organized brand of football. Prior to the clash, the only question that remained, whether Nepal would stick to the same defensive game plan as they did in the opener against Japan. They did eventually, giving liberty to the opponent to dominate  and control exchanges for the most part of the game. Nepal performed  poorly in the first half. It was a tale of erratic passes,lack of coordination, defensive lapses, slack offensive and midfield play, giving away the ball far too easily,inability to make forays into  opposition territory...

Despite defeat, the men’s national football team of Nepal did reasonably well to contain Japan to a solitary goal at the 2018 Asian Games Football. The narrow score-line does not tell the true story of the game. The Japanese had total control of the match, dominating  the proceedings from start to finish. The only thing they failed to do was score goals as they would have liked to. It was obvious that underdogs Nepal went into the game with  a defensive mindset as they never deviated from the strategy till the final whistle. The ultimate objective was to concede a few goals, which they succeeded in doing, at the end of the day. Given the strengths of the Japanese and Nepal’s vulnerabilities,it looked as though Head Coach Koji Gyotoku and his Assistant Bal Gopal Maharjan  purposefully took to defensive tactics and strategies to avoid an embarrassing defeat in terms of conceding too many goals. They knew well that a stubborn defensive approach was the ...

Unsurprisingly,football is one of the most followed and keenly watched events at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. The Under-23  competition features  Asia’s powerhouses like South Korea, Japan,Uzbekistan,Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iran. Some of the names missing out are Iraq and India. The national team of Nepal is in the fray and hoping to make it to the knockout stage.I do not see that happening,based on their current form and struggle to deliver results. As part of the preparation, Nepal played against Thai sides,losing both friendly games.The lackluster performance  has raised eyebrows and concern more than the defeat. In other words, the performance of the team left much to be desired. They face an uphill battle to qualify for the knockout stage. It is obvious that Nepal will need a vastly improved performance to turn things around in order to stand an outside chance and beat the odds. They are in a  pretty formidable group and pitted against...

In a thrilling and pulsating finish,the national cricket team of Nepal notched up a  sensational one run victory over the Netherlands to level the 50-over One Day International series in the Netherlands. There is no better way to conclude the series than winning the last game.Certainly, our cricketers have made a  compelling statement to the cricket world. This, however, is just the beginning  of a long, arduous and challenging journey into the world of international cricket. The remarkable start to the One Day International competition is a huge momentum builder for Nepal. They have earned pride, respect and recognition. I have run out of superlatives to describe Nepal's first One Day International(ODI)  win. I will say though, it was a monumental victory that will go down in the annals of Nepal cricket’s history as one of the greatest achievements. This is a proud moment for all our cricketers, fans and the country.Congratulations Team Nepal and th...

Team  Nepal’s historic 50- over One Day International debut against the Netherlands ended in defeat in the Netherlands. In a drama filled match dominated by bowlers, the Dutch heavily favored to win had the last laugh not before overcoming jittery moments. They pulled off a 55 run victory at the end. As for Nepal, once again, they had to pay a heavy price for poor batting. A lack of batsmanship from the middle order hurt their chance of an upset victory. In other words,they squandered a great opportunity  to beat the home side. The dramatic batting collapse put to rest Nepal’s hope of completing a historic victory.This tells the whole story. Hard to believe, four batsmen failed to score a single run.  They had plenty of overs to build their innings,but instead they threw away wickets playing  poor or rash shots. It would be  fair to say that the youngsters lacked the focus, confidence, patience , technique and composure to  score. The se...