Football: Champions again! India hold nerve to beat Bangladesh in dramatic SAFF U-17 Championship final
India earn seventh SAFF U-17 Championship crown in Colombo
While India’s current senior football landscape, the Indian Super League, is in disarray, the future of football in the nation looks promising after the Blue Colts - the country’s Under-17s team - won the SAFF U-17 Championship title in Colombo on Sunday afternoon.
The Blue Colts were clear favourites ahead of the contest according to all the best online betting sites in India, and the youngsters showed poise beyond their years to hold their nerve in a tense match that needed to be decided on penalties.
Dallamuon Gangte, who was India’s best player at the tournament, gave Bibiano Fernandes’ side a dream start, netting the opener inside the first five minutes of play, but their lead was cancelled out midway through the half by Bangladesh attacker Mohammad Manik.
Azlaan Shah KH restored India’s advantage before the break, and it looked as though the Blue Colts were easing to their fourth consecutive title until Ihsan Habib Riduan snatched an equaliser for the Bengal Tigers in the seventh minute of stoppage time at the end of the match.
However, in the penalty shootout, India showed their class, starting with Gangte, who slotted away their first, while Korou Meitei Konthoujam, Indra Rana Magar and Shubham Poonia followed suit to record a perfect four goals from four attempts.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, buckled under the pressure, as Md Ikramul Islam smashed their first spotkick against the crossbar before India shot-stopper Manashjyothi Baruah denied Md Azam Khan. Mohammad Manik converted the Green and Reds’ third, but it was not enough to deny the Blue Colts a seventh SAFF U-17 in 10 years.
SAFF U-17 Championship: Individual and Team awards
While India walked away from the SAFF U-17 Championship with the trophy, Bangladesh deserved plenty of credit for their performance in the competition. Up to the final, they had not conceded a single goal against any team.
As a result, despite the Blue Colts' triumph, it was the Bengal Tigers’ players who picked up the majority of the individual awards, and rightfully so, given that they were widely considered the most impressive team across the entirety of the tournament. The awards were as follows:
Top goal scorer: Muhammad Abdullah (Pakistan) - 6 goals
Best goalkeeper: Md Alif Rahman (Bangladesh)
Most valuable player: Nazmul Huda Faysel (Bangladesh)
Fair play award: Team India
India will now have about a month and a half to celebrate their victory before preparation for the AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers gets underway. The Blue Colts are set to face Palestine U-17s in their first match on November 22.
