India clinched the Bangabandhu SAFF Championship 2023 defeating Kuwait on sudden death on Tuesday. The match played at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, India, had ended 1-1 in the regulation and the added extra time and penalty shootout got tied 4-4.

The visitors took an early lead following a goal by Shabaib Alkhaldi in the 15th minute of the game. However, India came back with an equaliser in the 39th minute with a goal from Lallianzuala Chhangte.

The match remained fairly competitive as both sides tried to find the back of the net but failed to do so in regulation time and the match headed for a tie-breaker.

Kuwait’s Mohammad Abdullah could not convert his first shot but Fawaz Alotaibi, Ahmad Aldhefeery, Abdulaziz Mahran and Shabaib Alkhaldi scored the next four strikes from the spot.

The home team’s Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Subhashish Bose scored for India but Udanta Singh failed to hit the target as the shootout got tied 4-4.

Kuwait’s Captain Khaled Hajiah was denied by a diving goalie Gurpreet in the sudden death before Naorem Mahesh slammed his penalty home as India erupted in joy.

Nepal were awarded the Fair Play Trophy. Pitted against the finalists in the group stage, Nepal had a painful exit as the Gorkhalis failed to reach the semi-finals of a SAFF competition for the first time since 2015, after losing 3-1 to Kuwait and 2-0 defeat against India. Nepal’s only win during this edition of the competition was against Pakistan in their last group match.