Kathmandu, Aug. 4: Nepal achieved its first-ever victory over India by defeating the defending champions 3-2 in a thrilling five-set match at the CAVA Women’s Volleyball Nations League in Kathmandu on Saturday. This victory was especially significant as Nepal had previously come close to beating India but had never succeeded. 

Five years ago, during the 13th South Asian Games, Nepal narrowly missed out on the gold medal to India. Additionally, India also defeated Nepal in last year’s CAVA Nations League and Asian Games.

Nepal started off the second league match strong with a comfortable 25-18 win over India in the first set. However, they lost their momentum in the second set, allowing their opponents to claim it with a score of 12-25. With the support of their home crowd, Nepal rallied to win the third set with a score of 25-17.

The reigning champions put up a tough fight, forcing the match into a fifth set by winning the fourth set with a score of 25-18. 

However, Nepal maintained a lead in the fifth set, ultimately securing the historic victory with a 15-13 win.

Following this win, Nepal earned five points in the league table, while India remained at the top of the standings with seven points. In another match on the same day, Iran secured its second consecutive victory with a straight-set win over the Maldives (25-21, 25-20, 25-16), earning five points in the league table.

Nepal champion

Meanwhile, Nepal’s women’s beach volleyball team emerged as champions in the CAVA Beach Volleyball tournament in Bhutan on Saturday. Kamala Pun and Manisha Chaudhary secured a historic gold medal by defeating Uzbekistan with scores of 21-17 and 21-14 in the women’s final. This victory marks Nepal’s first title in beach volleyball, following previous silver medals in the AVC Central Zone Beach Volleyball competition. In the men’s category, the Nepali team, consisting of Man Bahadur Shrestha and Dil Bahadur Sunar, claimed the silver medal after being defeated by the Maldives with scores of 19-21 and 17-21. This win adds to the silver medals won by the Nepali men in the previous AVC Central Zone Beach Volleyball tournament held in Bangladesh two years ago.