Kathmandu, Oct. 28 -- When India hosted Nepal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on Monday, it was the last game of the tri-nation friendly tournament comprising Iran. But as the tournament champions were already decided with Iran lifting the trophy on Friday-having defeated Nepal 0-3 on October 5 and India 0-2 on October 21-Nepal and India, the two neighbours who are also big rivals in South Asian women's football, were in for a battle of prestige. Further, the date of the fixture-October 27-had a bigger meaning.

On October 27 last year, during the SAFF Women's Championship 2024 semifinal, a protest against the decision of the referee denying the equaliser by Nepal led the match to be held up for over 70 minutes without play. A...