Inspired by cricketers, Pakistan U-17 footballers attempt to troll Indian players with 'tea', ‘fighter jet’ celebrations

There isn’t any love lost between Indian and Pakistani athletes at the moment, especially senior cricketers who currently are in action in the Asia Cup. The second meeting between the two arch-rivals in the continental showpiece event witnessed plenty of fiery and controversial moments, including Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan's gun celebration and pacer Haris Rauf attempting to troll Indian spectators by making the “6-0” gesture with his hands and also mimicking a fighter jet getting downed.

Farhan and Rauf’s controversial gestures appears to have inspired the country’s young footballers as well, with their U-17 team attempting to troll their Indian opponents with similar celebrations after scoring goals. The incident took place during the SAFF U-17 Group B clash between India and Pakistan in Colombo on Monday, in both teams had arrived for the afternoon clash after winning both of their previous fixtures.

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Players greet each other before start of match

Unlike the cricketers, who have refused to shake hands with one each other with India captain Suryakumar Yadav and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Agha ignoring one another during toss, the junior footballers high-fived one another ahead of kick-off.

The cordial gesture between the two teams at the start of the match, however, did not stop the Pakistanis from attempting to mock their opponents.

Dallalmuon Gangte put the Indians in the lead with a 31st-minute strike and were about to head into the half-time interval with a slender lead with Muhammad Abdullah leveled the scores with a 43rd minute penalty.

Abdullah’s controversial celebration overshadows fierce contest

After sending the Indian goalkeeper the wrong way, Abdullah celebrated his goal with the “tea sip” gesture – which is intended to mock Indians over the capture and subsequent release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in 2019.

One controversial celebration, however, wasn’t enough for Abdullah, as he took a leaf out of Rauf’s book and mimicked a falling plane – which originates from the Pakistani military’s claim of having downed several Indian fighter jets during the four-day standoff between the two nuclear powers in May.

Watch:

What Is That For A Celebration #SAFFU17 #INDvsPAK

U17 kids 🤐🤐

📸 SportzWorkz pic.twitter.com/lDp5m3kxB8

— IndiaSportsHub (@IndiaSportsHub) September 22, 2025

As was the case in the Asia Cup match on Sunday, the Pakistani team could not back up their controversial celebrations with a victory, although the junior footballers did put up a much better fight than Salman Agha’s men.

Gunleiba Wangkheirakpam restored India’s lead shortly after the hour mark (63’), which was cancelled out by Hamza Yasir’s 70th minute goal. Rahan Ahmed fired what would prove to be the winner four minutes after Yasir’s equaliser, with the Indian defence holding tight for a little over 15 minutes thereafter.

Both teams have already qualified for the semi-finals of the ongoing tournament, with India and Pakistan facing Nepal and Bangladesh respectively on Thursday, 25 September.