Purnima Rai scored four goals for Nepal as the team defeated Bhutan 6-1 to open their SAFF U20 Championship campaign at Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Friday.

“The team gave me the opportunity to score,” Rai said in the post-match conference. “I was confident. I just wanted to score.”

The other two goals for Nepal were scored by Senu Pariyar. Pariyar was the first scorer of the game as she found the back of the net in the ninth minute.

Rai scored her first and doubled Nepal's lead in the 18th minute. Pariyar scored her second and the team's third before the first half ended.

Leading comfortably 3-0 at the start of the second half, Bhutan signalled a comeback by scoring. Kelden Wangmo pulled one back for Bhutan in the 54th minute. However, Nepal responded with more goals.

Rai scored again in the 63rd minute to extend Nepal’s lead to 4–1. She then completed her hat-trick in the 84th minute. In the 88th minute, she netted her fourth goal, stretching Nepal’s lead to 6-1.

However, Nepal missed several good chances to widen the margin further. Bhutan also had several chances; they also missed some, while goalie Sujata Tamang made some great saves in other instances.

With this win, Nepal have earned three points in the championship. Earlier in the day, hosts Bangladesh had made a strong start by thrashing Sri Lanka 9–1.

Nepal and Bangladesh both have three points but Bangladesh lead on goal difference. Nepal and Bangladesh will face each other on July 13. Nepal will then play Sri Lanka on July 15 before they tackle other opponents again on a double round-robin basis. The team with the most points at the end will be crowned champions.