Ranana, including Samba, lost in semi-finals

KATHMANDU: The Hapoel Raanana women’s football club, which includes the star player Sabitra Bhandari ‘Samba’ of the Nepali national football team, has been defeated in the semi-finals of the Athena Cup of Israel.

Raanana’s hopes of reaching the finals were dashed when they were defeated by Kiryat Gat in the semi-final match on Thursday night.

Kiryat Gat, Israel’s league champion, cruised to a 3-0 victory, securing their place in the finals.

Despite having some chances against a tough opponent, Nepali forward Samba was unable to score because the opposing goalkeeper became an impediment.

Sabitra had previously scored one goal and one assist in Raanana’s inaugural match, which the team won 2-0.

Raanana will now play its first league encounter on Thursday.