Forward Shahrom Samiev's 23rd minute goal proved to be the difference as the hosts ended their qualifying campaign with a perfect record of three wins, having scored 11 goals and conceded none.

Lebanon, meanwhile, finished second ahead of Syria on goal difference after a 2-0 win over Maldives earlier on Sunday.

The hosts, however, will have to brace themselves for another tough encounter as they will face Syria, who defeated Maldives 3-2 earlier on Friday, in their final qualifying tie on Sunday.

Syria, on four points after having played to a 1-1 draw in their opener against Lebanon on Wednesday, will have to win to seal top spot and confirm their place in the 2020 Finals.

Syria and Lebanon, meanwhile, played to a 1-1 draw in Wednesday's other match.

Group C is the first of 11 to have kicked off the qualifying campaign where the group winners and four best runners-up will join hosts Uzbekistan in the 2020 Finals. The remaining groups will be contested in November.

Group C of the Qualifiers will swing into action earlier than the rest with Syria, Lebanon, Maldives and Tajikistan aiming to secure the automatic slot.

The remaining 10 groups will see qualifying action in November.

It was a dramatic end to a final which had seen India reduced to 10 men and Bangladesh nine.

The final started promisingly for India, who took the lead in just the second minute through Vikram Partap Singh.

Beaten 4-2 by UAE just six days prior, Iraq overcame the sending off of Abdulrazzaq Kadah to force the shootout, where they netted four of their five penalties to secure the trophy.

Earlier, Jordan claimed a 3-0 win over host nation Palestine to finish the tournament in third place.

In a match where both sides had their fair share of opportunities, Brook timed his run perfectly to steal in behind the Malaysian defence to slot home the winning goal.

Malaysia had high hopes of retaining the title they won last year, especially after having defeated Australia 3-0 in their group stage encounter earlier in the tournament.

For Australia, the triumph sealed their fifth title in nine appearances in the regional tournament.