Purnima Rai scores hat-trick in first half as Nepal takes big lead against Bhutan in SAFF U-20 Championship

Nepal took a strong 6-0 lead in the first half against Bhutan in the SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship match being played in Bangladesh on Saturday, thanks to a hat-trick from Purnima Rai.

Along with Purnima’s three goals, Meena Deuba scored two goals, and one goal was an own goal by Bhutan. Meena gave Nepal an early lead by scoring in the very first minute of the match.

In the 9th minute, Samiksha’s long-range shot hit the crossbar, bounced off the goalkeeper, and went into the net, doubling Nepal’s lead.

Meena scored her second goal in the 12th minute. Then, in the 23rd minute, Purnima tapped in a goal from Meena’s pass to make it 4-0.

In the first minute of injury time, Purnima scored a header from Sarita Kumari’s free-kick, and later in the final moments of the half, she completed her hat-trick to make it 6-0.

This is Nepal’s second match against Bhutan in the double round-robin tournament. Nepal had defeated Bhutan 6-1 in their first meeting last Friday.

Nepal lost 3-2 to Bangladesh in the second match but secured two big 7-0 wins against Sri Lanka in the third and fourth matches.

Bangladesh currently leads the table with 12 points from 4 matches. Nepal is in second place with 9 points from 4 matches, and Bhutan is third with 3 points.

The tournament features four teams playing in a double round-robin format. The team with the highest points at the end will be crowned champion.

Nepal will play its final match against Bangladesh on Monday.