Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met both the teams prior to the kick-off. Higher Education Minister Rohit Pujari handed over the trophy to the champion team in the presence of MLA Bhupinder Singh and State Sports Secretary R Vineel Krishna.

India started campaign on a shocking note as they lost to Bangladesh 1-2 on July 27. But the home team bounced back in style with a 4-0 win over Sri Lanka. In their third match on July 31, India trounced Nepal 8-0.

Odisha player Tankadhar Bag scored one goal against Nepal after being sent in as a substitute. A 10-man India booked slot in the final when they defeated Maldives 1-0 in their fourth and last league match on August 2.

This was the second successive time that India lifted the trophy in the SAFF U-20 Championship. In the previous edition of the tournament, India had clinched the title, defeating Bangladesh 2-1 in the final match.

The 23-member Indian National team featured one player from Odisha (defender Tankadhar Bag). Most of the players in the India U-20 side were drafted from AIFF developmental side, Indian Arrows.
A total of five countries participated in the championship.

INDIA U-20 MEN TEAM: Goalkeepers: Syed Zahid Hussain Bukhari, Mohit Singh Dhami, Som Kumar. Defenders: Amandeep, Halen Nongtdu, Bikash Yumnam, Sajad Hussain Parray, Raj Basfore, Brijesh Giri, Tankadhar Bag, Pritam Meetei Sorokhaibam. Midfielders: Sibajit Singh Leimapokpam, Vibin Mohanan, Vinay Harji, Maheson Singh Tongbram, Sujit Singh, Harsh Sailesh Patre, Taison Singh Loitongbam, Macarton Louis Nickson. Forwards: Gurkirat Singh, Parthib Sundar Gogoi, Himanshu Jangra, Shubho Paul. Head Coach: Shanmugam Venkatesh.

RESULTS:
25 July (Match 1): Nepal (Dipesh Gurung 42, Sugam Suwal 57, Kritish Ratna Chhunju 62, Managya Nakarmi 90+4) beat Maldives 4-0.
25 July (Match 2): Bangladesh (Mirajul Islam 71) beat Sri Lanka 1-0.
27 July (Match 3): India (Gurkirat Singh 35) lost to Bangladesh (Md Piash Ahmed Nova 29, 45+1-P) 1-2.
27 July (Match 4): Nepal (Ayush Ghalan 58, Kritish Ratna Chhunju 65, Managya Nakarmi 84) beat Sri Lanka 3-0.
29 July (Match 5): India (Himanshu Jangra 50, Parthiv Gogoi 69, 90+3; Gurkirat Singh 73) beat Sri Lanka 4-0.
29 July (Match 6): Bangladesh (Mirajul Islam 19, 22, 42; Rafiqul Islam 42) beat Maldives (Zain Zafar 53) 4-1.
31 July (Match 7): Maldives (Aiham Hamdoon 74th) drew with Sri Lanka (JG Theshan 90+5) 1-1.
31 July (Match 8): India (Taison Singh 32nd, 66th; Parthiv Gogoi 50th, 52nd; Himanshu Jangra 70th, Tankadhar Bag 78th, Gurkirat Singh 89th, Shubho Paul 90+3) beat Nepal 8-0.
2 August (Match 9): Bangladesh (Md Piash Ahmmed Nova 63rd) drew with Nepal (Niranjan Malla 69th) 1-1.
2 August (Match 10): India (Gurkirat Singh 89th) beat Maldives 1-0.
5 August (Match 11, Final): India (Gurkirat Singh 1st, 60th, 94th, 99th, Himanshu Jangra 92nd) beat Bangladesh (Rajon Howladar 44th, Shahin Mia 84th) 5-2.
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TOP: India U-20 team before their match against Sri Lanka in Bhubaneswar on 29 July 2021.
RIGHT: Players and support staff of the Indian team with guests at the presentation ceremony in Bhubaneswar on 5 August 2022.