In recognition of Nepal’s performance in the recently concluded Eighth SAFF Championship, the country’s football governing body rewarded 20 national players with a cash prize of Rs 250,000 each at a function held at the Dasharath stadium conference hall on Monday. Nepal, considered one of the title contenders, kicked off their campaign with a convincing 2-0 victory over Bangladesh, played out a 1-1 draw against Pakistan before registering a historic 2-1 win over India—their first against the opposition inside the regulation 90 minutes in 28 years—to enter the semi-finals as the Group ‘A’ winners. Despite dominating the proceedings against champions Afghanistan in the semi-final match, a mistake from goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong gave the eventual champions an 11th minute lead. Rohit Chand then blew away a great chance to equalise from the spot. Head coach Jack Stefanowski and his assistant Richard Orlowski were also felicitated with the same amount, while team’s technical director Krishna Thapa and physiotherapists Samid Kumar Katila and Suraj Bhushal were awarded with Rs 100,000 each. Team manager Lalit Krishna Shrestha, who is also an Anfa board member, was rewarded with a gift hamper. This is the second time this year that Anfa has rewarded the squad with cash award. In March, the national squad was rewarded with Rs 50,000 each for their performance in the AFC Challenge Cup Group ‘D’ qualifiers. Nepal had kicked off the qualifying campaign with a 6-0 win over Northern Mariana Island but a 2-0 loss to Bangladesh put paid to their qualifying hopes. Interestingly, Nepal had also reached the semi-finals in the previous SAFF Championship held in New Delhi in 2011. But the squad was not awarded with anything. Elated after the reward, Nepal skipper Sagar Thapa lamented that Nepal had been unlucky to win the title despite good performance. “We gave our best but were unlucky to reach our first SAFF final. But there are bright sides as well. We defeated India and Bangladesh. Our aspiration was to keep the title home but you cannot always realise your dreams,” Thapa said. “We are deeply honoured as Anfa has always kept us motivated. We will give everything to win the trophy after two years.” Coach Stefanowski said the championship had brought about positive vibe into the team. “We have miles to go and these are part of a long journey. Sometimes you are successful and sometimes you fail,” he went on. “Though we are disappointed not to have reached the final, many positive things have emerged out of the championship. It was a wonderful experience. I would like to thank my players for their good job.” Meanwhile, urging Chemjong and Chand to put those incidents during the Afghanistan match behind, Anfa President Ganesh Thapa said: “Chemjong and Chand are our valuable players. They will continue to be intrinsic part of the national team for the next 6-7 years. We will have to rise again for better tomorrow.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 16:00:50 +0000
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