At the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in this city on Tuesday, India's Gurpreet Singh Sandhu shone for the second time in a row as India defeated Kuwait 5-4 on penalties (after sudden death) to win its eighth SAFF Championship championship. Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, Lallianzuala Chhangte, and Subhashish Bose scored for India in the subsequent penalty shootout as the score remained tied at 1-1 while Udanta Singh missed. Mohammed Abdullah's opening spot-kick for Kuwait clanked against the bar, but Fawaz Alotaibi, Ahmad Aldhefeery, Abdulaziz Mahran, and Shabaib Alkhaldi dragged it out until it was abruptly stopped. Naorem Mahesh scored his penalty when he got there, and Gurpreet's diving stops to his left to deny Kuwait captain Khaled Hajiah handed India its second victory in as few as a month. However, Kuwait had a strong start three hours earlier, taking the lead with a quick transition in the 14th minute. Abdullah Albloushi, a right defender, was released on the overlap, and Alkhaldi tapped in Alkhaldi's low cross into the box. However, the Indians' spirits remained upbeat, as the hosts almost tied the score on the very next move. Goalkeeper Abdulrahman Marzouq had to dive to stop a long-range shot from Chhetri before Chhangte's rebound was cleared.
Anwar Ali, a defender, had to be carried off after pulling a muscle in his right leg just as India was about to rally. The night was going south for India since they were down a goal and had an injured vital player. But after 38 minutes, Chhetri & Co. were right back in the game thanks to some outstanding combination play, which energised the 26,000-person audience. Chhetri grabbed the ball from Ashique Kuruniyan on the left and toe-poked Sahal Abdul Samad free. The latter gave the ball a selfless square, and a sliding Chhangte completed the play from the right. India's passion persisted even after the match's ends were switched. Kuwait increased its physicality in an effort to cause disruption, but other than receiving a few yellow cards, it had very little effect. The strategy's failure becomes immediately clear, as the guests preferred football over their health. As the game inexorably moved into extra time, India took advantage of a few missed opportunities. For the following 30 minutes, neither goalie faced much danger. With only a few minutes remaining, India came the closest, but Chhangte blasted over from a tight angle on the left wing. The shocked supporters exhaled, but it didn't take long for Gurpreet to become their hero.
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