Bangladesh got off to a promising start in handball of the 11th South Asian (SA) Games when they handed a 40-18 defeat to Nepal in one of the two matches on the opening day at the newly-built Handball Stadium adjacent to Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Mirza Saiduzzaman led the way scoring eight goals, with another six coming from Karmul Islam and five from Mahabubul Alam. Waliur Rahman and Imdadul Haq netted four goals each for Bangladesh, who were quick in counter-attack though the Nepali goalkeeper foiled numerous efforts including three penalty shots.

Bangladesh were too good for Nepal as they took a 20-9 lead in the first half. The hosts were equally sharp in both attack and defence and never looked under any pressure.

Big win

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In the first match of the day, India humiliated Sri Lanka 58-10, dominating the first half 28-02 at the same venue.

Almost all Indian players found the back of Sri Lankan net with Deepak scoring highest 10 goals. Feroz Ahmed and Sachin scored eight and seven goals respectively while Parseed and Siddharth scored six goals each for India. Nalaka was the most successful scorer for Sri Lanka with four goals.