New Delhi: Pakistan’s U-17 side mocked the Indian team with a ‘Tea’ celebration in the SAFF U-17 Championship in Colombo on Monday, September 22. But Pakistan’s celebration fell flat as India defeated them 3-2 in a thrilling contest.
Dallulmuan Gangte, Gunleiba Wangkeirakpam and Rahan Ahmed scored a goal each to seal the game for the Blue Tigers. With this win, India finished the pool on top and progressed to the semi-finals of the tournament.
The match caught everyone’s eye on social media when Pakistan’s Muhammad Abdullah scored an equaliser and pulled out a unique celebration to mock the Indian team. Abdullah ran down to the corner and imitated an action like he was sipping tea.
The celebration was well prepared, as it was a reference to when Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was apprehended by Pakistani forces. In the intense filmed interrogation, Pakistan’s forces offered him a tea, and Abhinandan called the tea ‘fantastic’.
Watch video here:
“The Tea was fantastic” celebration in Pakistan vs India U17 football match 🙈pic.twitter.com/3SpVf4fTa7
— I b r a h e e m (@Ibraheeeeem92) September 22, 2025
The celebration backfired on Pakistan in the second half when India again took the lead in the match as Wangkeirakpam scored a goal in the 63rd minute.
The game took another twist as, after seven minutes, Pakistan’s Hamza Yasir scored an equaliser in the 70th minute. The game was finely poised in the last 20 minutes of the match, but the Indian team again found the back of the net in the 73rd minute to score their third goal and seal victory.
It was the second instance in two days that the Pakistan team tried to imitate India on the sporting field, as the Pakistani players resorted to dirty tricks during the clash between India and Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025.
India qualify for semi-final
India won all three of their games and topped the group in the league stage as they defeated Maldives 6-0, Bhutan 1-0, and now Pakistan 3-2 to close out the group stage. Blue Tigers will face Nepal in the semi-final on Thursday, September 25.
Pakistan also qualified for the semi-final and will take on Bangladesh. If both teams win their respective games, then they will meet in the finals again.