India U19 girls team returns to a grand welcome in New Delhi

New Delhi: Several fans turned out at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here, on Friday, to greet the India U19 Women’s Team that returned as the joint champions of the SAFF U19 Women’s Championship in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Though the Indian team had won the toss after being held to draw in 90 minutes of regulation time and 11 penalty kicks, the Bangladesh officials decided to announce Bangladesh and India as the join winners.

As the team came out of the 'Arrivals' gate, the members were garlanded and offered sweets by senior federation officials. A group of enthusiasts broke the mundane humdrum of the airport with the fervent beats of their drums while breaking into the famous bhangra dance to celebrate the team’s success.

Earlier in the week, the final of the championship between India and hosts Bangladesh had ended 1-1, before it went into the penalty shootouts, where after each of the 22 players scored their respective penalties (11-11), it was mutually decided that the champions’ title would be shared between the two sides.