In a dramatic turn of events, India and Bangladesh were declared joint winners of the SAFF U-19 Women’s Championship. The match ended 1-1 in regulation time, leading to a tie-breaker. Controversy erupted in the match when India and Bangladesh were level on scores (11-11) even after the tie-breaker. The match referees declared India as the winner through a coin toss. However, the Bangladesh team expressed dissatisfaction with this decision, with the home fans throwing bottles inside the stadium. This led to a change in decision, as both countries were declared winners.
As per tournament rules, sudden death should have continued as long as there is a tie. However, Sri Lankan match commissioner De Silva Dylan decided to go for a toss after the score was tied at 11-11 in sudden death.
At the time of the toss, Bangladesh did not disagree with this choice. But after losing the toss, Afida Khatun, the captain of Bangladesh, objected. The decision did not sit well with the team’s coach or staff either. Fans joined in the protest too, and the match referees decided to go for another sudden death, which India objected to.
Eventually, both sides were declared as the winners. India objected to the match commissioner’s decision and left the field. As per the regulations, Bangladesh was to be crowned the winner if India failed to return to the field on time. The officials did, however, declare both teams to have won jointly.
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