Indian national football team were crowned SAFF Champions for the ninth time in their history, defeating Kuwait in the SAFF Championship 2023 Final in Bengaluru via penalties on Tuesday. India beat Kuwait 5-4 in penalties after match ended at 1-1 in regulation time.
Indian captain Sunil Chhetri stepped up to take the first penalty kick against Kuwait and found the back of the net immediately. In a video which went viral on social media, Chhetri’s pregnant wife Sonam Bhattacherjee was seen jumping in joy after India went up 1-0 in the penalty shootout.
The SAFF Championship in Bengaluru has also thrown up a number of firsts. India skipper Sunil Chhetri has been at the forefront of such records, having equalled Maldives captain Ali Ashfaq’s tally of 23 goals in the SAFF Championships, the joint-highest by any individual.
Chhetri, with his hat-trick in the opening match of the SAFF Championship against Pakistan, also became the second-highest goalscorer in the history of Asian football, overtaking Malaysia’s Mokhtar Dahari (on 89).
While the India captain has been on red-hot form up front, banging in the goals, Blue Tigers custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has been quietly doing his job at the other end, earning five consecutive clean sheets for India, stretching from the Hero Intercontinental Cup. The 31-year-old has set up an individual record of five back-to-back clean sheets, beating his own record of four back in 2018, when he did not concede goals in the Hero Intercontinental Cup and in the International Friendly against China.
Last month, during a match against Vanatu at the Kalinga Stadium, Chhetri revealed that he and his wife Sonam were expecting their first child. After scoring, Chhetri celebrated by blowing kisses towards his wife, Sonam, who was present in the stands.
In a post-match interview, he revealed that he dedicated the goal to her, mentioning that they were expecting a child. This heart-warming gesture added a personal touch to Chhetri’s remarkable achievement.
Bureau Report
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