Sunil Chhetri credits fans and fighting spirit of team for SAFF Victory

Indian football team skipper Sunil Chhetri attributed the country's SAFF Championships victory to the fighting spirit of the team on Thursday.

Talking in a video uploaded on his Twitter handle, Sunil said, "I can tell you one thing clearly about the team, we are here to fight."

"We will fight no matter where we are playing, who we are playing with, and what we are playing for," Chhetri added further.

India overcame two strong West Asian countries in Lebanon and Kuwait to beat them in penalty shootouts in the semifinal and final, respectively, and lift the title for the ninth time at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The two teams were invited by SAFF to make the tournament more competitive.

Playing all 120 minutes in both semi-finals and final, Chhetri scored both penalties to give a good start to India in the penalty shoot-out.

Chhetri also appreciated the packed home crowd who turned up in large numbers at the Kanteerava Stadium, which is his home ground in the Indian Super League.

"I want to thank Bengaluru. You guys were special. The West Block Blues, the East Upper and Lower Stand, the North Stand, and the South Stand. Special thanks to the traveling Manjapadda, the Mariners, the Northeast (Highlander) Brigade, and the East Bengal Ultras...all of you coming together and supporting us the way you did, was amazing," said Chhetri in his video.

India is slated to participate in the King's Cup (Thailand) and the Merdeka Cup (Malaysia) in September and October, respectively. Igor Stimac's side has gone unbeaten in 11 games on home soil in 2023 while winning seven of them, but they won't have it easy going ahead.

"I hope you understand what your importance is. From Manipur (Tri-Nation Cup) to Bhubaneshwar (Intercontinental Cup) to Bengaluru, you guys have made it special. We will win some and lose some but let me assure you that we are in this together, and we will enjoy this together," Sunil concluded.