Bangladesh, India crowned joint winners of SAFF U-19 Women's Championship after dramatic final
But there was another twist to the tale and both the teams were named the winners. The Indian team returned to the ground after the result was finalised and shared the trophy with Bangladesh in the post-match presentation ceremony.
In an unprecedented event, Bangladesh and India were named joint champions of the SAFF U-19 Women's Championship after the visiting side decided not to return to the field after a dramatic shootout and coin toss in the tournament's final at the artificial turf of the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Shipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur.
India lost the final to Bangladesh last time around and the touring side almost completed the revenge on Thursday although they probably did not expect the game to end like this.
The game was tied 1-1 in the allocated 90 minutes and none of the players from both sides missed the target in the penalty shootout and it was 11-11 after 22 spot kicks.
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After that, the referee called the captains and said the result of the match would be decided by a simple coin toss. The coin toss went in favour of the Indian captain and they were announced champions.
The Bangladesh players as well as the fans present at the stadium were visibly angry with the outcome.
Later it was learnt that there was no mention of a coin toss in the tournament by-laws and the match commissioner De Silva Jayasuriya Dilan rectified his mistake and decided that a penalty shootout would take place again.
India were given a 30 minutes' time to come back on the field but they stayed in the dressing room for roughly an hour and it seemed Bangladesh would eventually be announced champions.
But there was another twist to the tale and both the teams were named the winners. The Indian team returned to the ground after the result was finalised and shared the trophy with Bangladesh in the post-match presentation ceremony.
India led Bangladesh 1-0 at halftime but Bangladesh were not going down without a fight. The Indian defence held firm but the hosts pressed hard for an equaliser.
India got a golden opportunity to extend the lead in the 52nd minute but the Bangladesh goalkeeper Shorna Rani Mondol made a crucial save.
Bangladesh got a couple of set-piece chances but the Indian defence managed to clear them away.
Sagorika came to Bangladesh's rescue again as she found the much-awaited equaliser in the 93rd minute to take the game to penalty shootouts. It was her fourth goal in the tournament.
The AIFF acting secretary-general M Satyanarayan said: "India despite being declared winners after the spin of coin, decided to accept the officials request for sharing the trophy as the situation was simmering and a section of the home fans was found indulging in creating disturbances. Since the security of the players and other team officials is our utmost priority, the AIFF decided to agree to the request of the organisers."
