Haldibari Rural Municipality and Birtamod Municipality shared the points in the inaugural match of the Om Sai Pathivara Hospital Inter-Municipal District League and Knockout Football Tournament which started today in Bhadrapur of Jhapa.

In the Bhadrapur Jhapa Gold Cup organized at the Mechi stadium, Haldibari took the lead but the match ended in a draw. Haldibari and Birtamode have one point each after a 2-2 draw. In the 28th minute of the game, Hiran Rajwanshi of Haldibari scored a goal and gave the team the lead. However, in the 31st minute, Sujanvikram Limbu of Birtamod returned the goal. Similarly, in the 62nd minute of the game, Birtamod's Roman Bhujel scored a goal and gave the team the lead. However, in the 76th minute of the match, Haldibari's captain Bikas Zavegu scored a goal and the match was tied.

Today's player of the match was Hiran Rajvanshi of Haldibari. Gold Cup President Dipesh Dhakal, Jhapa District Sports Development Committee President Prashant Bhandari and Courtesy Tirtharaj Dhakal presented cash of 2000 and a trophy to him.

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula inaugurated the competition, which was organized with the aim of producing young players from Jhapa, the fertile land of football. Bhadrapur mayor Ganesh Pokharel and chief sponsor Om Sai Pathibhara Hospital president Deepak Pokharel gave congratulatory remarks at the event.

15 teams from 14 municipalities of Jhapa and Bhadrapur Blazers team of the organizer will compete in the competition.

General Secretary Jeevan Kumar Shrestha informed that the final match of the competition will be held for 18 days. According to the schedule, Haldibari, Birtamod and Buddhashanti are in Group A. Kankai, Bhadrapur Blazers, Jhapa and Gauradah are in Group 'B', Kachankawal, Bahardashi, Mechinagar and Bhadrapur are in Group 'C' and Kamal, Damak, Shivasatakshi and Arjundhara are in Group 'D'. The winner and runner-up of each group will enter the eight-team knockout stage. The knockout stage matches will start from the quarter finals. The quarter-final matches will be held on November 19 and 20. The semi-final match will be held on November 22.

The winner of the competition will get cash 3 lakh, trophy, medal and certificate, while the runner-up will get cash 2 lakh, trophy, medal and certificate. The player of the match of each game will get Rs 2,000 in cash. The best player of the tournament will get 10,000 rupees in cash, trophy and medal. Similarly, the best goal keeper, best defender, best midfielder, best forward and best coach will receive 5000 rupees in cash, trophy and medal. It is estimated that 80 lakh rupees will be spent to complete the competition.