Nepal assistant coach Kiran Shrestha turned up at the pre-match conference of SAFF Championship 2021 in Male stadium on Thursday, where he paid a lot of respect to home team, Maldives.

Coach Shrestha says the home are the good side.

"They are the defending champions. They have good individuals. We fully respect them", said Shrestha.

When asked which teams are the favorites to win the title, coach Shrestha rated India and Maldives.

"India are the favorites team. Maldives are the second favorites", said Shrestha.

Nepal is opening the campaign taking on Maldives on Friday at 9:45 PM NST.

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