The India U-16 national team finished runners-up in the 2015 SAFF U-16 Championship in Sylhet, Bangladesh as they tasted a 2-4 defeat on penalties against hosts Bangladesh after a 1-1 stalemate on Tuesday (August 18, 2015) at the Sylhet District Stadium.
The hosts, Bangladesh, squared up first to take their penalties and scored all of their penalty kicks. Meanwhile the Indian contingent scored two of their four penalties and succumbed to a defeat.
Both India and Bangladesh came into the Finals of the Championship on the back of a solitary goal win over Nepal and Afghanistan respectively.
After a drab and goalless first half, it was the host team which took an early second half lead in the 48th minute of the match.
With both teams jostling for possession, the match turned into an end-to-end affair, but to no avail.
The Indian colts jotted down some passes and attacked with fluidity as they penetrated the opposition in the 64th minute.
A long ranger by Avinash, following a tacky move equalized the deficit for the Indian contingent.
Both teams nullified each other out for the rest of the time and at the end of full-time the score-line reflected 1-1.
The match morphed into a penalty shoot-out, wherein the Indian team were defeated 2-4 by hosts Bangladesh.
(Report & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)