When 100 Bangladeshi voices were heard amid 20,000 local fans
''Our eleven girls fought against eleven oppositions players on the field, but we were only around 100 Bangladeshi up against 20,000 local fans," Arif Islam, one of the fortunate ones who got the opportunity to witness the Bangladesh team's historic triumph from the stands at Kathmandu's Dasarath Stadium on Monday, shared his 'once-in-a-lifetime experience' with The Daily Star today.
Arif is a well-known name, as an organizer, in the country's cricket fraternity and is currently staying in the Himalayan country to run his own business and a cricket academy as well.
"Last few days I just forgot everything, including cricket, as our women's team hogged the entire spotlight here. And finally, they gave us that precious moment which is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me," Arif choked with emotion while reliving his experience of seeing Bangladesh beating hosts Nepal 3-1 to grab the SAFF Championship title.
"There were not many tickets allotted for Bangladeshi fans and many were crying for a ticket to watch this [SAFF Championship] final game. We were few in numbers but we did not let our voices drown amid the cacophony of local fans. Many lost their voices due to the continuous chanting of 'Bangladesh, Bangladesh!'
"I saw many successes of our cricket team but it was altogether a different feeling, which I cannot explain in words," he added.
Nepal came into the final as the favourites on paper as head-to-head records, FIFA Rankings, and comparative performances in SAFF outings were taken into account. Regardless of the result, the Dasarath Rangasala Stadium was ready to welcome a maiden champion in the competition. Nepal fans, however, were only eager to see their team hoist the trophy. Anticipation of festivity had filled the air of Kathmandu.
"The home fans never stopped roaring, even when Bangladesh took a 2-0 lead at half-time, as they were confident that their team would make a comeback. But once the referee blew the long final whistle, only then our voices could be heard in the stadium," he added.
Arif appreciated how Nepalese supporters showed their sporting spirit as they soon recovered from the shock and went on to congratulate the Bangladesh team and praise the skills of the women in red and green.
"Suddenly we found that they started to congratulate us. A common sentiment among the home fans was that the Bangladesh girls deserved the trophy as they had been playing fantastic football all throughout the tournament.
"Many Nepalese fans told us that our girls won their hearts by playing beautiful football. They were praising our attacking style of play. Many of our players' names were at the tip of their tongue."
He also informed that many home fans expressed their frustration from being deprived of watching a wonderful final due to a rain-affected field. The women in red and green could have entertained more had the ground been in a better shape, a few Nepal fans said to Arif, whose only wish is to see this latest success sustain so that it will not evaporate like many other instances in our sporting past.
"As an organiser, I have some fear because we saw how poorly we responded to our many previous successes. Hoping for good and long-term planning to take them to greater heights in future."