Nepal has lost to India in the Kava Women's Volleyball Championship after playing five sets.

Nepal's first match in the championship, which began on Friday at the Rakhep Covered Hall in Tripureshwor, was against close rivals India. Despite taking an early lead on home court, Nepal came back and extended the match to five sets.

The team led by Niruta Thagunna excited the home crowd by winning the first set 25-21. Nepal then lost two consecutive sets 20-25, 19-25. Nepal tied the match 2-2 by winning the fourth set 25-20. After Nepal lost the final and decisive set 15-9, the match went 3-2 in India's favor.

Nepal has a history of presenting similar challenges against India in the past and ultimately losing. That includes the final of the 13th South Asian Games. Nepal had lost the historic gold medal by losing 3-2 on this court.

The Nepali team had entered the court with half of its players new. This time, six new players had made their place in the team after the senior players had fled abroad.

The head coach of the Nepali team, Jagdish Bhatta, said that he was satisfied with the team's performance. He said, "We gave a good competition. I am happy with the young players' good performance. The opponent had a height advantage, and they took advantage of it."

Recalling that the last five matches against India had ended in the fifth set and lost, coach Bhatta said, "The same situation happened today too." He said that he now wanted to compete with India in the final and win the title.

Captain Niruta, however, became emotional in the post-match conference. All she could say was that she could not perform as expected, after which her throat became blocked. Then coach Bhatta spoke about the game.