Nepal finished second behind India in the eighth South Asian Judo Championships on Sunday after Indra Bahadur Shrestha earned second gold medal for the hosts on day two of the regional meet at the Army Physical Training and Sports Centre.

Nepal finished with two gold, six silver and 13 bronze medals, while India struck 10 gold and three bronze medals. Pakistan secured third place with two gold, three silver and three bronze medals. The event was participated in by six teams including Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Teenager Shrestha was the only Nepali judoka to clinch a gold medal among the four finalists for hosts on Sunday. Shrestha beat Babar Hussain of Pakistan in the men’s below 66kg weight division final. He floored Hussain to earn ippon decision—the biggest point scored in judo—for his first international gold. Shrestha, a player from Prisoners Assistant Mission (PAM), had earlier stunned favourite Ankit Bisht of India in the semi-finals. Bisht and Roshan Madusanka of Sri Lanka finished as joint bronze medal winners.

“I was confident of clinching the gold after defeating the tough opponent in the semi-finals,” said the 19-year-old, the 2016 South Asian Games bronze medallist. “The Indian opponent was taller than me but my coaches had instructed me not to fear and stick to my natural game.”

Sanjit Dangol, Sanjay Maharjan and Punam Shrestha of Nepal lost their final bouts against players from India, who win six out of seven golds on offer on the penultimate day. India had struck four gold medals on Saturday.

Dangol lost in the men’s below 73kg division final to India’s Ajay Yadav. He conceded ippon as well as wazari—the second best score behind ippon. Nadeem Akram of Pakistan and Janga Bahadur Saru of Nepal won bronze medals. Maharjan lost the below 81kg section final to Divesh of India. He also conceded an ippon and wazari. Muhammad Abbas of Pakistan and Sriharsha Peires of Sri Lanka settled for bronze medals. 

Punam Shrestha lost the women’s below 78kg division final on the basis of golden score after she was tied with Indian’s Jina Devi Chongtham in the regulation four-minute time. Shrestha was disqualified for third shido (foul/penalty) during the golden score. Beenish Khan of Pakistan and Bhawana Gharti Magar of Nepal took the joint bronze.

Tulik Maan of India won the women’s gold in the above 78kg category, defeating Milani Silva in the final. Tahmina Akhtar Lopa of Bangladesh and Aakriti Joshi of Nepal settled for bronze. India’s Garima Chaudhary won gold in the below 70kg division round robin league beating all three opponents. Farina Khanom of Bangladesh secured silver and Sunita Magar of Nepal and Ruwani Jayarathna of Sri Lanka won bronze. 

India’s Vijay Yadav clinched the men’s below 60kg gold beating Milinda Senevirathne in the final. Roshan Bahadur Dong and Umesh Magar, both of Nepal, were restricted to bronze medal. The men’s and women’s team event will be decided on Monday but the medals will not be counted in the overall standings, informed the organisers.