WATCH: 'Vande Mataram' Chants Echo At Kanteerava Stadium After India Beat Kuwait To Win SAFF Championship

Sunil Chhetri's Team India beat Kuwait in the final of the SAFF championship to win their record ninth title. The fans got emotional and sang the 'Vande Mataram' at the Bengaluru stadium to celebrate the momentous occasion.

India held its nerve in the closing moments of the final of the SAFF championship final against Kuwait to clinch the record-extending ninth title in Bengaluru. After 120 minutes of intense football between the two teams, the game went into penalty shootouts. Both Kuwait and India finished with a goal each. India eventually won the match with 5-4 scoreline in the shootouts. The sudden death was needed to decide the winner after five rounds of penalty resulted in scoreline of 4-4. Mahesh Naorem of India scored in the sudden death while Gurpreet Sandhu saved Khaled Hajiah's shot to ensure India registered a big win.

Earlier, Kuwait's Shabaid Al Kaldi had give his team a great start, by scoring in the 14th minute of the matcg. The Blue Tigers stormed back in style with their first goal in the 39th minute, just before the half-time. It was Lallianzuala Chhangte who had scored the goal for India to equalise with Kuwait. From thereon, both teams tried hard but failed to score the winner. The match eventually had to slip into extra time and then into penalties. 

Lost for words to express myself. Overwhelmed with gratitude for the love and support that we got. Winning 3 different _ with the @IndianFootball team in a season at home is truly special. Let's not stop here, let's build on this and keep making leaps for bigger things. pic.twitter.com/LxDAf0jcpd — Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (@GurpreetGK) July 5, 2023

After India won the final and with it their ninth SAFF cup, the atmosphere at the Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium was electric. The crowd chanted and sang the classic song by AR Rahman 'Vande Mataram'. The words 'Maa Tujhe Salaam' echoed across the stadium, giving goosebumps to the players and those who watched it on social media. The players were in tears after the win and the chant only lifted their mood. 

Watch the football fans at Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium chanting Vande Mataramm after India beat Kuwait in the final of the SAFF championship below:

Goosebumps guaranteed! #SAFFChampionship2023 #INDKUW pic.twitter.com/mVGzW47p3U — FanCode (@FanCode) July 4, 2023

Sunil Chhetri was an emotional man on Tuesday night. The legend of Indian football thanked the fans for coming into big numbers to support the team. Chhetri's goals were of massive help for India in this tournament as well as Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu's brilliant saves. Sandhi was in tears after the match. Later he tweeted, "Lost for words to express myself. Overwhelmed with gratitude for the love and support that we got. Winning 3 different _ with the  @IndianFootball team in a season at home is truly special. Let's not stop here, let's build on this and keep making leaps for bigger things."