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Indian football team (source: Twitter)
In the final moments of their SAFF championship final versus Kuwait, India maintained composure to win the record-tying ninth championship in Bengaluru. The game entered penalty shootouts after 120 minutes of furious play between the two teams. India and Kuwait each scored one goal to complete the game. India ultimately prevailed in the match by a score of 5-4 in the penalty shootouts. After a total of five rounds of penalties ended with a score of 4-4, sudden death was required to determine the victor. India's Mahesh Naorem scored in sudden death, and Gurpreet Sandhu stopped Khaled Hajiah's attempt to give India a significant victory.
Shabaid Al Kaldi of Kuwait had given his squad a solid start by netting in the match's fourteenth minute. Just before halftime, the Blue Tigers made a strong comeback scoring their first goal during the 39th minute. Lallianzuala Chhangte had scored the goal that brought India and Kuwait to a tie. After that, both teams made a lot of effort but couldn't get the winning goal. Eventually, penalties had to be used to finish the game after extra time.
Watch: Fans show true character by chanting 'Maa Tughe Salaam'
Goosebumps guaranteed! #SAFFChampionship2023 #INDKUW pic.twitter.com/mVGzW47p3U
— FanCode (@FanCode) July 4, 2023
The Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium was lit up after India won the final and their ninth SAFF Cup. The famous song "Maa tujhe salaam" by AR Rahman was chanted and sung by the crowd. The athletes and those who were watching it online got shivers as the words "Maa Tujhe Salaam" reverberated around the stadium. After the victory, the team members were in tears, but the chorus just made them feel better.
On Tuesday night, Sunil Chhetri appeared to be a distraught individual. The legendary Indian football player praised the supporters for showing up in such large numbers to cheer for the squad. India's performance in this competition was greatly aided by Chhetri's goals and goalie Gurpreet Singh Sandhu's outstanding saves. Sandhi sobbed after the game. He tweeted later, saying, "Lost for words to express myself. Overwhelmed with gratitude for the love and support that we got. Winning 3 different _ with the @IndianFootball team in a season at home is truly special. Let's not stop here, let's build on this and keep making leaps for bigger things."