South Asian Games 2019: Indian women win their third straight football match to enter gold medal clash

India's domination at the South Asian Games 2019 continued as the first week of action came to an end today in the picturesque towns of Kathmandu and Pokhara in Nepal.

On a day that saw India take their medal tally close to a total of 200, Indian women's football team stayed true to their expectation of a gold medal as they beat the host nation Nepal in their final league encounter at the Pokhara Stadium.

Maymol Rocky's side proved to be better than the Nepalese women as they clinched all the points in a match that saw the two sides separated by a lone goal. Bala Devi was the only scorer in a tightly contested match getting the advantage for the Blues.

Dangmei Grace took a corner in the 18th minute of the match which was headed in by the ever attack-minded Bala Devi putting India on the board. This goal marked her third goal in the South Asian Games 2019 making her the only Indian footballer to score in all the league matches in Nepal.

The two sided went into the halftime break with India leading 1-0 on the board as Nepal aimed to get back in the match in the second period. Nepalese women kept pushing for the equalizer testing the Indian defence with their setpiece attempts however the Indian backline was up to the task. Ashalata Devi managed her troops well as they held the home side at bay and sealed the third win on the trot to top the group after the league stage.

Earlier in the day, the women from Maldives picked up the bronze medal beating out the challenge from Sri Lanka with a 2-1 scoreline.

In the gold medal match, India will take on the Nepal team again on December 9th, 2019 at the Pokhara Stadium with kick off scheduled for 12:45 PM IST. India will be gunning to complete a hat-trick of gold medals since the sport was introduced at the South Asian Games in 2010.