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Kathmandu, July 19. The decades-long dream of beating India in women’s volleyball became a reality on Saturday. Nepal won a historic victory by defeating India 3-2 at the Dasaratha Stadium in the 2024 Kawar Women’s National League on Saturday.
Nepal made history by losing the match 25-18, 12-25, 25-17, 18-25, 15-13. The Indian women’s volleyball team suffered its first defeat in Nepal since 1943.
In the fifth set of the official match, Nepal 14-13. Usha Bhandari won the match point and made history. Usha dodged the pass from libero Salina Shrestha and threw the ball to the middle front line, avoiding three Indian blockers, and the Nepali players and supporters began to celebrate.
The enthusiasm of the supporters in the packed hall was extraordinary. The happiness of the coaches, officials, officers was boundless. Any match against India is always important in Nepali sports. The players got excited and agitated when they lost for the first time to the team that constantly became an obstacle.
“After the win, there is nothing in my mind. Can’t think of anything. Winning the match today gave a different emotion from the fear we had against the Indian team,” captain Aruna Shahi said after the win.
Aruna said that beating India was more important than beating other strong teams. “When India is defeated, the message is different. If India beats Nepal, beating other strong teams may not be so important. Even if we win Russia, it will not be as valuable as it is today,” Aruna said.
The Nepali women’s volleyball team has performed well in the international arena in recent years. The women’s team, which has been busy with domestic competitions and has always performed well in international competitions, was shocked by the Indian team.
In South Asian women’s volleyball, Nepal has consistently beaten all countries except India. But India has been an obstacle in every game Nepal has played.
Although unable to overcome Indian competition, Nepal’s competitiveness has been increasing recently.
India emerged as the champions against Nepal in the final of the 13th South Asian Games (SAG) held in 2019, clinching a historic gold medal on this very pitch. India left Nepali players and supporters crying at home.
In the 13th round final, Nepal lost to India 17-25, 25-23, 25-11, 20-25, 6-15. Nine months ago, India defeated Nepal 3-1 in the Asian Games.
India did not participate when Nepal won the 2019 and 2021 AVC Asia Central Zone Women’s Volleyball Championships.
Last year, in the Kawa Women’s Challenge Cup, Nepal lost to India 1-3 (12-25, 24-26, 25-21, 21-25) in the group stage. Then, they lost to Kazakhstan in the semifinals and were eliminated.
Before 2019, the Nepali women’s volleyball team was easily defeated by India. But in recent years, with the development of India, India’s competitiveness has increased. Head coach Jagdish Bhatt said that the victory against India will take Nepali volleyball to a higher level.
“Indian volleyball is much higher than ours. But our team spirit is strong and on the other hand, earlier we were a little scared of India when we played, but recently we have been going forward with a winning mentality,” he said. “It was a success today.”
Coach Bhat said that after the victory over India, the level of Nepali volleyball has improved. This will bring pressure on the government and supporters. Now it sends a positive message that volleyball can do something and should be given priority,” he said.
Open spiker Niruta Taguna played well in Saturday’s match. After the match, she responded that her original intention in playing was to prove that India could win.
“We wanted to prove that we were wrong about always losing to India,” she said. “We didn’t play because we had to beat India. But my idea was to play as hard as I could.”
Saraswati Chaudhary was emotional after failing to win gold at the 2019 Saag. Saraswati was the senior player as Pratibha Mali was absent due to injury. As a senior player, Saraswati performed the role well on Saturday. Saraswati said her dream of beating India since her debut in 2014 has now come true.
I wanted to beat India ever since I made my debut. We played a competitive game and lost to India. I am happy to win now,” said Saraswati.
Photo: Vikas Shrestha/Online News
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