LAHORE: Pakistan women fought back to edge out Maldives 2-1 in the Group ‘B’ match of the first SAFF Women football championship at Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Tuesday.

After Maldives drew the first blood through Syeda Mahapara in the first half, Pakistan managed the equaliser in the 44th minute through Mehwish Khan.

Malaika Noor converted a spot-kick in the 89th minute to seal the fate of the match.

Eight teams are participating in the event.

Pakistan will now play their second match against Nepal on Thursday and third against Afghanistan on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh started their campaign with a 2-0 win over Sri Lanka in Group ‘A’.

India earned a stormy start, crushing Bhutan 18-0.

Sasmita Mallick proved to be a nightmare for the Bhutanese defence as she scored seven, while Bala Devi was also impressive and scored five. Tababi Devi bagged four goals while Pinky and Amoolya scored one each.