The glittering man-of-the-tournament trophy reflected more sorrow than joy for the Bangladesh defensive midfielder Jamal Bhuiyan as he said it would have been better if the hosts had won the championship.
Jamal, who had a stellar tournament, was the livewire of Bangladesh in all of their matches. “I am very upset. I thought we will finish as the champions. Without two influential players we fought hard but could not hit the bulls eye. I am also angry with the refereeing. I don’t know why he showed me the yellow card. All I want to say is that in the last couple of years we have improved and showed signs of progress. Today (yesterday), we came close and set the platform in the second half. But, in the whole of the second half, they created one chance and scored the winner,” said the Denmark-based footballer.
Malaysian Under-23 skipper Nazirul Naim said he was happy to score his first big-stage international goal. “I am not a regular free-kick taker. I wanted to prove myself and I put all my best into the effort. I am happy with that,” said Nazirul.
Man-of-the-final Faizat said it was an unforgettable moment for him when he headed in the winner. “I kept myself motivated to make the difference. I was confident. I am happy to score the winner. It is a special moment for me,” said the forward.
