Nepal’s Rabina Thapa had to settle for a silver medal in the women's sabre as she lost the final to Munib Fatima of Bangladesh 15-10 at the 13th South Asian Games in Kirtipur on Saturday.

In the semi-final, Thapa had defeated Asmita Basnet of Nepal.

The women's events saw both of Nepal's fencers—Januka Syangtan and Indira Paudel—lose against Indian opponents in the semi-finals. Kabita Devi Thauma and her compatriot Sital Dala secured the gold and silver medals respectively.

In the men’s individual foil, Indian fencers maintained their dominance. Binoth Kumar Bhelauthan won gold while Rajeshwar Singh bagged gold and silver. Tharidu Madhumal of Sri Lanka and Rubel Miya of Bangladesh were joint bronze medalists.

With the day’s events, India have five gold medals and Bangladesh one in fencing. The team events will begin on Sunday.

Three women boxers into final

Nepal's Lalita Maharjan, Minu Gurung and Sangita Sunar entered women's boxing final at the South Asian Games in Satdobato, Lalitpur, on Saturday. Punam Rawal has already confirmed silver after she enjoyed a bye in the 64kg tie-sheet draw.

Maharjan edged Nadika Puspa Ranesinghe in the women's 48kg division, while Gurung saw off Bangladesh's Onita Islam of Bangladesh in the 54kg category. Sangita had defeated Sri Lanka's Keshani Hansika in the 60kg division.

In the men's event, Sushil Thapa Magar of Nepal was limited to bronze after he lost in the men's 49kg bout. Puran Rai also faced a similar fate in the men's 56 kg division after going down to Md Robin Miya of Bangladesh. Bhupendra Thapa made it to the 64kg final, defeating Md Alamin of Bangladesh in the semi-final bout.

Nepal to vie with India in handball final

Nepal overcame India 22-21 in women's handball to enter the semi-final in Pokhara, Kaski, on Saturday. Uma Rai scored 11 goals for the home team in the semi-final. With this victory, Nepal will now meet India in the final, who edged Bangladesh 41-13 in another last-four clash. India and Pakistan will vie in the men's final after they registered wins in their semi-final matches.

India defeated Sri Lanka 39-32 riding on seven points each from Deepak Singh and Nabin Singh. Pakistan got the better of Bangladesh 27-17, where Md Ujir Ateef contributed seven points for Pakistan. The finals will be played on Sunday.

Nepal lose 1-0 to India in women's football

Host Nepal faced a 1-0 defeat against India in their last league match of women's football at the South Asian Games on Saturday. Bala Devi scored the goal for India in the match played to determine the group winners and runners up. Both Nepal and India have already made it to the final, but the outcome means that India has now entered the final maintaining their winning streak in the four-team contest. Nepal's only defeat in this tournament came against India after defeating Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Nepal's coach Hari Khadka lamented that his side lost the game after failing to utilise scoring opportunities. The final will be played on Monday. The Maldives secured bronze after defeating Sri Lanka 2-1 in the third-place playoff match.