India were crowned the SAFF U-18 Champions for the first time as they secured a 2-1 win against Bangladesh scoring the winner at fading moments of intense final played at Halchowk ground in Kathmandu on Sunday.

Vikram Pratap Singh put India ahead in the second minute of the final. However, the match then turned dramatic as unsporting behaviour by players of both sides led to chaos on the field prompting the match referee to issue marching orders to three players in the first half itself. In the 23rd minute of the match, Nepali referee Kabin Byanjankar showed a straight red card to Gurkirat Singh of India while Mohammad Riddy of Bangladesh was sent off after seeing his second yellow.

Captain Yeasin Arafat, who had earlier been booked in the 17th minute, brought Bangladesh on level terms in the 39th minute. However, the absentminded celebration of the inexperienced Arafat cost Bangladesh dearly. While celebrating the equalizer, Arafat took his shirt off which earned him his second yellow and was eventually sent off as Bangladesh got limited to nine players on the field. Bangladeshi players took it to protesting the referee’s decision which left the match stranded for a short while.

Indians however, were made to sweat for the winning goal despite playing with numerical advantage as they were made to wait until the injury time to capitalise on the scoring chance. Ravi Bahadur Rana found the net as the match did not prolong further and the 2015 runners up finally lifted the trophy. Bangladesh were again compelled to satisfy as the runners up in succession having ended in second place behind Nepal in the 2017 edition.

Earlier, the two time defending champions and hosts Nepal had crashed out from the league round of the third edition of the sub continental age-group tournament following a dismal display. Playing in their own backyard, much was expected from team Nepal given their previous records at the tournament. However, Nepal did not even win a single match as they were held at a 1-1 draw by Maldives before a shocking 3-0 defeat against Bhutan.

Bhutan, despite having to settle for a fourth place following a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Maldives, were the success story of the tournament. Among those impressed by Bhutan's performance was Nepal's coach Chet Narayan Shrestha who resigned a day after bowing out of the group stage. He acknowledged the fact that Bhutan previously considered ‘minnows’ had made a giant leap while Nepal's standards had remained stagnant. Bhutan has revamped its domestic football structure which is beginning to pay dividends.