India beat Kuwait on penalties to clinch SAFF Championship for record 9th time

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Hosts India clinched the SAFF Championships title for the ninth time after beating Kuwait 5-4 in a tense penalty shootout after both sides were deadlocked 1-1 in 120 minutes in the summit clash at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Tuesday (July 4).

After five rounds of penalty kicks the scoreline remained 4-4 and sudden death rule was applied. Mahesh Naorem scored but a diving India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu saved Khaled Hajiah's shot to hand victory the home side.

In the regulation time, Shabaib Al Khaldi had put Kuwait in the lead in the 14th minute before Lallianzuala Chhangte equalised in the 39th minute. Defending champions India and Kuwait had also played out a 1-1 draw in their last group match.

This is India's 9th SAFF Championship win and the hosts also defended their title which they won in 2021.

India also remains unbeaten in this edition of the SAFF tournament. The hosts beat Pakistan and Nepal in the group-stage matches and registered a draw against Kuwait.

In the semifinals, Blue Tigers won against Lebanon 4-2 in the penalties after it ended goalless in the first 120 minutes.

India Results in SAFF 2023

SAFF 2023 Personal Awards

India captain Sunil Chhetri ended up winning the Most Valuable Player Award and also received the highest-scoring award for netting 5 goals in the tournament.

Bangladesh goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico won the best goalkeeper award, whereas Nepal clinched the fair play award.

(with PTI inputs)