This World Cup will spring more surprises

 Like many other World Cup followers, national badminton player Sabina Panthi believes the ongoing tournament will produce more surprising results as it progresses.

The badminton beauty was on cloud nine after Argentina defeated Iran with a stoppage-time goal from Lionel Messi to advance into the round of 16 with two wins from two matches. “Argentina is my favorite team and I want it to win the World Cup,” says Sabina. 

Sabina started watching the World Cup regularly from 2006 and has been a fan of Argentina ever since. “My elder brother was a fan of Argentina, and he persuaded me to support the team when I started watching the World Cup in 2006,” she recalls.

Sabina also has a painful memory associated with the 2006 World Cup. “There was power cut in the middle of a match featuring Argentina, so I went to bed. After a while someone shouted that the power cut had ended. I tried to jump out of bed in excitement but hit my head against something in the dark and got injured,” says Sabina.

She has watched almost all early matches, and even some late night fixtures, of this year’s World Cup. “The most fascinating thing about this edition is that some of the big names like defending champion Spain and powerhouse England have already crashed out in the group stage. It’s so strange,” she says.

She is also full of praise for underdogs like Iran and Australia. “Iran played very well against Argentina. Especially its defense line was rock solid against Argentina. I erupted in joy after seeing Argentina score the winner in injury time,” said the player, who arrived in her hometown Mahendranagar three days ago. 

“I used to watch matches with friends at my hostel in Kathmandu. But now I watch it with my brother,” says Sabina.