The defending champions, Armed Police Force (APF) Football Club, made a winning start at the 33rd edition of the Triveni Cup National Football Tournament, which began on Saturday in Besisahar, the district headquarters of Lamjung.
In the opening match, APF defeated Sundarbazar Football Club by a convincing 5–0 margin. The match was played at the Sahaji ground in Besisahar Municipality-8. APF’s Samir Thokar opened the scoring in the 20th minute and added his second goal in the 30th minute. Pradeep Lama scored in the 37th minute to give APF a 3–0 lead by halftime.
In the second half, Mani Lama scored the fourth goal in the 18th minute. Samir Thokar then completed his hat-trick with another goal in the 25th minute. For his outstanding performance, Thokar was named Man of the Match. He received a cash prize of NPR 10,000. In addition, he was awarded NPR 5,000 for scoring the first goal, sponsored by Ramkumar Gurung, originally from Bhujung and currently residing in Hong Kong.
According to the organizers, the tournament champions will receive NPR 1.2 million along with a trophy, medals, and certificates, while the runners-up will receive NPR 600,000 along with medals and certificates. Individual awards for Best Player, Top Scorer, and Best Goalkeeper will each carry a cash prize of NPR 25,000, along with a trophy and certificate.