Watch: Crowd sings Vande Mataram and Maa Tujhe Salaam after India clinch SAFF Championship

Choruses of Vande Mataram and Maa Tujhe Salaam rang out from all over the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru as India defeated Kuwait on penalties to lift the SAFF Championship.
The crowd which was very vocal all throughout the night in their support of India burst into thunderous ovation when goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu saved Kuwait skipper Khaled Hajiah’s shot to hand India the victory.
After five rounds of penalty kicks, the scoreline remained 4-4 and sudden death rule was applied. Mahesh Naorem scored but a diving Sandhu saved Kuwait captain Khaled Hajiah’s shot to the wild celebration of the home fans and at the India dug out.

Vande mataramMaa tujhe salam 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳#SAFFChampionship2023 #IndianFootball #India #SAFF2023 pic.twitter.com/DKrsKPJ8Tm
— RITIK yadav (@Ritikya40373470) July 4, 2023
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 champion India and Kuwait had also played out a 1-1 draw in their last group match.
This was the second time India won in the penalty shootout. They had made it to Tuesday’s summit clash after beating Lebanon 4-2 in penalty shootout in the semifinal on July 1. Sandhu had also made a crucial save in the shootout then.
For India, captain Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, Chhangte, Subasish Bose and Mahesh converted while Udanta Singh missed.