The tournament that started about half a century ago was called Mahendra Gold Cup but has been renamed as Birat Gold Cup from the current 29th edition. [break]
On Saturday, Himalayan Sherpa took an early lead after Ganesh Khanda scored a tight angled shot from the box into the far corner.
Although Himalayan Sherpa made attacking moves until the break, it was not able to add more goals.
Police made a good start after the break with Bharat Khawas dribbling the ball from the midfield toward the post only to miss the shot after slipping. Police dominated ball possession throughout the second half, but Himalayan Sherpa´s strong defense managed to foil over a dozen of attempts.
Himalayan Sherpa´s goalkeeper Binay Shrestha also blocked a free-kick awarded to Parbat Pandey after he was fouled by Suren Thapa in the 61st minute, to deny an equalizer to Police.
As players of Police missed host of opportunities, Khadka´s lone goal turned out to be the decider as defending champion crashed out of the tournament. With the victory, Himalayan Sherpa secured a semifinal berth in the knockout tournament.
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