India continued their dominance of the SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) Championship as the hosts and defending champions overpowered Afghanistan 4-0 in the final at New Delhi on Sunday. The success brought a happy conclusion to what has been a disappointing year forIndia during which they failed to progress beyond the group stage in January's AFC Asian Cup, before being knocked out of Asian qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ at the hands of United Arab Emirates.
The final scoreline in the decider was deceptive, with Afghanistan in the hunt until the latter stages. Storming into the final for the first time, tournament surprise packages Afghanistan did well in keeping the hosts at bay but the balance was abruptly tipped when the underdogs conceded a penalty on 71 minutes.
Striking ace Sunil Chetri stepped up to the spot to put the hosts ahead, before two goals in as many minutes from midfielder Clifford Miranda and forward Jeje Lalpekhlua put the game beyond any doubt. Second-half substitute Sushil Kumar then added icing to the cake with a thunderbolt deep into the injury time.
"It is an important tournament and I am very happy that we won," said an ecstatic Chetri, who struck seven times to win the tournament Golden Boot and Most Valued Player awards as Indialifted the trophy for a record sixth time. "We played well as a team and we are going in the right direction."
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