At the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Tuesday, July 4, the Indian senior men’s football team won their 9th SAFF Championship title by defeating Kuwait in the championship match. After the sides were tied at 1-1 after regulation time and the additional 30 minutes of extra time, the game ended in a penalty shootout. The Blue Tigers ultimately prevailed, defeating their opponents 5-4 on penalties to win the championship.
Meanwhile, after India’s victory, amazing moments took place in the stadium. The legendary AR Rahman rendition of Vande Mataram began to be sung in the packed Kanteerava Stadium at that very moment, and videos of it have since gone viral on social media. With images of India’s victory and the song playing in the background, the clip may make fans emotional.
Watch the video here:
Crowd chanting Vande Mataram after that winning save by Gurpreet 😍❤
What a atmosphere for football match finally 🎯❤#IndianFootball#SAFFChampionship2023pic.twitter.com/JlmjRmvPhr— Mayur (@133_AT_Hobart) July 4, 2023
Brilliant performance by Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Sandhu
There were stressful moments in the game, especially for the home crowd since India was down 0-1 when Shabib Al Khaldi’s strike gave Kuwait the lead in the 14th minute. However, the hosts managed to tie the score in the opening period itself when Lallianzuala Chhangte scored in the 38th. After 120 minutes of play, the scores were tied, therefore a penalty shootout was called.
India scored the first goal in the penalty shootout and took a lead over Kuwait 1-0 thanks to a spot-on goal from skipper Sunil Chhetri and a crossbar shot from Abdullah of Kuwait. Sandesh Jhingan then gave the goalie a difficult save before Fawaz Al Otaibi made it 2-1 with a goal. Chhangte and Kuwait’s Aldhefeery both easily converted their penalties to make the score 3-2.
After then, Udanta Singh missed his attempt, and Abdul Aziz Naji scored to tie the game at three. With the score tied at 4-4 and the penalties going to sudden death, Subashish Bose and Shabib Al Khaldi played flawlessly. Naorem Mahesh Singh of India hammered his attempt into the top right corner, but Gurpreet stopped Khalid El Ebrahim’s attempt to give India the victory.
