Hosts Bangladesh were thrashed 47-13 by India in their Begum Khaleda Zia IHF Nations Trophy women’s handball match at the Shaheed Captain M Mansur Ali Handball Stadium in Paltan on Monday.

India never looked threatened in the contest, taking a 24-8 lead at halftime. The hosts could not recover after a poor first half.

India’s Bhawana scored 13 of the goals and was named player of the match.

Bangladesh had begun the tournament with a commanding 33-20 win over Nepal.

But against a physically superior Indian side, Bangladesh could hardly put up a fight.

“Today’s [Monday’s] match result is essentially about two countries. One is India, who have been working extremely hard over the past year, and the other is Bangladesh, who are also working hard but at a different level,” Bangladesh’s Spanish coach Ana Alonso said after the match.

“Naturally, our physical condition and handball skills are different, which is also evident on the field. However, our goal is to improve and do better over the coming months and years so that we can compete with India.”

With the win, India have booked their place in the final of the four-nation tournament with a match to spare.

Bangladesh are also still in contention, as a win over the Maldives in their last league game on Tuesday would send them through to the final alongside India.