India win SAFF Championship for 9th time
Bengaluru
4 July 2023
India won the SAFF Championship for the ninth time as they defeated Kuwait 5-4 in a thrilling penalty shootout in the final after the scoreline stood at 1-1 at Bengaluru's Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Tuesday.
Kuwait found themselves in the front in the 14th minute with Shabib Al Khaldi finding the back of the net. India fought hard before finally getting some success in the 38th minute as Lallianzuala Chhangte scored the equaliser.
In the penalty shootout for India, Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Subhasish Bose and Mahesh Singh Naorem scored while Udanta Singh Kumam had missed the target.
For Kuwait, Fawaz A A R W Alotaibi, Ahmad Afnj Aldhefeery, Abdulaziz H M Mahran, and Shabaib A SH T Alkhadi scored but the first penalty by Mohammad D KH Abdullah and the last penalty by Khaled M E H Hajiah were off the target.
The awards:
- Fair play award - Nepal
- Best goalkeeper of the competition - Anisur Rahman Zico (Bangladesh)
- Highest Goalscorer award - Sunil Chhetri (India)
- Most valuable player of the competition - Sunil Chhetri (India)
- Winners - 50,000 USD (India)
- Runners-up - 25,000 USD (Kuwait)