Uzbekistan, June 29 -- Nepal kicked off their AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign in a spectacular fashion, routing Laos 9-0 at the Milliy Stadium in Tashkent on Sunday. The emphatic victory marks Nepal's 100th international match and their best-ever result in Asian Cup qualification history.

Leading the charge was Sabitra Bhandari, affectionately known as 'Samba', who scored four goals on her captaincy debut. Bhandari's clinical performance underlined Nepal's attacking prowess as she netted once in the first half and added three more after the break, taking her international goal tally to 62 in 59 appearances.

Anita Basnet opened the scoring in the 12th minute, heading home off a cross from Sabita Rana Magar. Bhandari doubled the...