India reached the SAFF Women's Championship final on the back of a 8-0 win over Pakistan in the semis. —File Photo
India reached the SAFF Women\'s Championship final on the back of a 8-0 win over Pakistan in the semis. —File Photo
India were crowned winners of the inaugural South Asian Football Federation Women’s Championship on Thursday, when they beat Nepal 1-0 in the final at Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazaar Zilla Stadium.

Sasmita Mallick’s 65th-minute winner was enough to see India through to glory, after a goalless first half saw both teams squander several goal-scoring opportunities.

India had been the most dominant team of the tournament, scoring 39 goals in their four matches leading up to the final while maintaining a clean sheet.

Gold medallists at the South Asian Games in February, India entered the final on the back of a comprehensive 8-0 win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the semis. Bala Devi, starred for India in the semi-final with a hat-trick and was adjudged player of the tournament on Thursday.

Opinion

Editorial

Regional climbdown
04 Mar, 2026

Regional climbdown

WITH the region in flames, Pakistan must calibrate its foreign policy accordingly; it has to deal with some ...
Burning questions
Updated 04 Mar, 2026

Burning questions

A credible, independent, and time-bound inquiry is now necessary after the US Consulate protest ended in gruesome bloodshed.
Governance failure
04 Mar, 2026

Governance failure

BENEATH Lahore’s signal-free corridors and road infrastructure lies a darker truth: crumbling sewerage lines,...
Iran endgame
Updated 03 Mar, 2026

Iran endgame

AS hostilities continue following the Israeli-American joint aggression against Iran, there seems to be no visible...
Water concerns
03 Mar, 2026

Water concerns

RECENT reports that India plans to invest $60bn in increasing its water storage capacity on the Jhelum and Chenab...
Down and out
03 Mar, 2026

Down and out

ANOTHER Twenty20 World Cup, another ignominious exit — although this time Pakistan did advance past the first...