All pics: Gopen Rai

Nepali football team returned home to a hero’s welcome on Saturday, lifting the first international trophy in the last 23 years.

Hundreds of Nepalis thronged the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu waving national flags to greet their football heroes.

Nepali skipper Biraj Maharjan with the trophy.

In the final of Bangabandhu Gold Cup in Dhaka on Friday, Nepal had defeated Baharain U-23 team 3-0. This is the first time Nepal has lifted an international title since winning the gold in the South Asian Games in 1993.

Bimal Gharti Magar, Bishal Rai and Nawayug Shrestha netted thrice for Nepal, giving a reason for the 28 million Nepalis to cheer about amidst a protracted political gridlock.

Nepal have ended a 23-year-long title drought on the heels of an embarrassing match-fixing scandal. Just two months ago, police had arrested Nepali football captain Sagar Thapa and a few other players on the charge of accepting money to lose matches during international tournaments over the last two years.

After facing a humiliating defeat at the hands of the arch-rival India in the SAFF championship in December, Nepal’s head coach Patrick Aussems quit and assistant coach Bal Gopal Maharjan was asked to take the mantle ahead of Bangabandhu Gold Cup. Incidentally, Maharjan was a player of the Nepali team that lifted the last international trophy in the same stadium of Bangladesh.

Nepal were not seen as a favourite in Bangabandhu Gold Cup. But they shocked the tournament favourite Maldives 4-0 in the semifinals and secured a convincing victory in the final.

All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has announced R s 500,000 for each member of the Nepali squad that lifted the Bangabandhu trophy.