Sports Desk:

Three-time champions and hosts Bangladesh will play against their South Asian neighbours Nepal in the final of the ongoing fourth Bangabandhu Cup 2024 International Kabaddi Tournament on Monday at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium in Mirpur.

Bangladesh earlier stormed into the final for the fourth successive time after crushing Thailand by 41-18 points in the first semifinal while Nepal bagged a hard-fought 59-55 points win over former runners-up Kenya in the second semifinal at the same venue on Sunday.

Bangladesh took a 23-8 points lead in the first half of the day’s first semifinal and maintained their domination over their Thai opponents until the final whistle. The winners earned three lonas in the match.

The day’s second semifinal between Nepal and Kenya was tied at 50-50. In the tie-breaker, Nepal bagged nine points whereas Kenya earned 5 points from five raids each.

“We are fully concentrating on the final now, we just want to defend our title for the fourth time,” Bangladesh coach Abdul Jalil told the reporters after the semifinal, adding that they need support from the fans during the final.

Bangladesh earlier beat Nepal by 46-31 points in a place decider of the six-team Group A.

“Bangladesh is a good team. We previously lost to them in the group stage but we will try to play well in the final and hope to beat them there,” said Nepal coach Bishnu Dutt Bhat.