SAFF Championship: India defeat Kuwait in penalties to win 8th title

BENGALURU: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu turned hero yet again as India defeated Kuwait 5-4 via sudden death penalties in the final to defend the SAFF Championship title at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Tuesday.

After the two teams were tied 1-1 in normal time, Sandhu, who was the hero of India's win over Lebanon in the semifinals in a penalty shoot out, reproduced his brilliance as the hosts emerged the winner. India has now won the SAFF Championship eight times, the most by any nation in the tournament's history.

With this India, who recently rose one place to 100th in the latest FIFA rankings. This was also India’s second silverware, after clinching the Intercontinental Cup last month.