Mohali (Punjab) [India], July 5 : The mother of goal-keeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, whose save etched India's ninth sub-continental title, struggled to hide tears of joy after her son made the entire country proud with his performance in SAFF Championship.
The Indian men's football team claimed their ninth SAFF Championship title as they beat Kuwait 5-4 on penalties at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday.
In the summit clash of what was the biggest and most competitive SAFF Championship ever, Sandhu's winning save added another chapter to the nation's regional supremacy.
Gurpreet's mother Harjit Kaur said Gurpreet Singh was dedicated to football from childhood.
"We are very happy. Even in childhood, he showed a lot of dedication towards football. He used to play and practice in harsh weather conditions too. Initially, he started playing in school in Chandigarh, then after 10th class, he went to Jamshedpur. He has not looked back. My son was also conferred with Arjuna Award in 2019 which was the first time in our family. We feel very good about our son winning the title. We have full hope that he will play more and more to make India proud. He should continue to play like this and make India proud," Harjit Kaur told ANI
"Yesterday's match was very interesting. it was very difficult but when the match went to penalty then we felt that our son will definitely help win and the same happened," Gurpreet's father Tejinder Singh Sandhu said.
"Gurpreet is an inspiration and he loves football. We have full hope that he will play more and more to make India proud. I want to say that the way the Indian team is performing, soon we will be among the biggest teams in the world. Like cricket, so many people will come to football now," he added.
Gurpreet was the hero of the night, as he saved the last penalty of the SAFF Championship final by Kuwait captain Haijah.
The game ended 1-1 after 120 minutes; Shabaib Al-Khaldi had put Kuwait in front early on, and newly-crowned AIFF Player of the Year Lallianzuala Chhangte equalised later in the first half.
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