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Nawayug Shrestha struck a hat-trick to steer Nepal into the final of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup with a crushing 4-1 victory over Maldives at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Tuesday.Shrestha displayed sheer athleticism and perfect finishing to become Nepal’s fifth footballer to score international hat-trick, and most importantly send his team into the final of an international tournament after 17 years. Nepal’s last final appearance was in the 1999 South Asian games football against Bangladesh which they lost 1-0. The victory, the first since 1999, also comes as a welcome relief to the Nepali football that has lately been embroiled in match-fixing and corruption allegations. Nepal had defeated Maldives 2-1 in the South Asian Games semi-finals on home turf.Shrestha, who had fired blanks in his last six international matches, was at the centre of Nepal’s fine attacking game, while Bishal Rai also struck his first international goal. Nasid Ahmed pulled one back for Maldives in the 77th minute. Nepal will now take on Bahrain U-23 team in final on Friday. A modest Shrestha thanked his teammates for his achievement that has come especially at a time when Nepali players are heavily criticised for not being able to score. “Football is a team game and I would like to thank my teammates for making it happen,” Shrestha told the post match presentation after receiving the man-of-the-match award.
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