After Maldives lost out on penalties in the 2003 final to Bangladesh, the dejected Jankech described his decision not to pick Ashfaq as his biggest regret. Jankech was made to further rue his decision a year later, as the young Ashfaq scored four in his first match in national colours against Mongolia. Ashfaq ran the Mongolian defence ragged as he notched up four goals, the most in a single match for Maldives at the time. Ashfaq has not looked back since, on his way to establish himself as a legend, the undoubted beacon of Maldives football for well over a decade. But the now captain in the twilight of his illustrious career on Thursday announced that next month's SAFF Cup in India would be his last. Ashfaq is the best player in the prestigious regional tournament's history. India's Baichung Bhutia may very well be ahead on silverware, but arguably, Ashfaq, the leading goal scorer in the SAFF championship is well ahead on talent. 2005 - Ashfaq's first SAFF Championship The 2005 SAFF Championship in Karachi, Pakistan was Ashfaq's first. He led the then formidable Maldives' forward line with Ali Umar and Thoriq. In the goal fest against Afghanistan Ashfaq scored a brace which was followed up with another goal against Sri Lanka which secured a place in the semi final for Maldives. In that last match of the group stage against Pakistan which ended in a goalless draw, Ashfaq was man marked by Pakistani defender Zesh Rehman who plied his trade in the mighty English Premier League with London club Fulham. The clash was highly anticipated as it was an opportunity for the fans to judge Ashfaq's caliber when pitted against a high quality defender. Despite having the superior squad, Maldives bowed out of the tournament after losing 1-0 to regional giants India. Yet Ashfaq was the joint top goal scorer with fellow strikers Ibrahim 'Oppo' Fazeel and Thoriq. 2008 - Maldives lifts first SAFF cup Maldives hosted the 2008 tournament jointly with Sri Lanka. Maldives entered the tournament with arguably the golden generation of footballers with Ashfaq at his peak. Ashfaq carried the hopes of the entire 330,000 population of the archipelago and this time, Ashfaq did not disappoint. For the first time, Ashfaq failed to score in the tournament, but the 1-0 wins over Sri Lanka in the semifinal and India in the final, was down to Ashfaq's brilliance and tenacity. Fans would find it hard to forget a patched up Ashfaq refusing to be substituted despite a badly busted lip in the final against India. 2009 - Despair for Ashfaq and Maldives After main rivals India announced that its under 23 squad would head for the tournament, Maldives was confident of defending their title. Ashfaq scored a brace against Afghanistan in the second match after drawing 1-1 against Nepal in the first. But Ashfaq reserved his brilliance for the semi-final scoring another two goals in the 5-1 rout of Sri Lanka. But joy for the island nation and especially Ashfaq was to be short-lived as Maldives lost out to the U23 Indian side in the final on penalties. While Ashfaq missed the decisive penalty he also uncharacteristically missed no less than three golden opportunities just before the end of normal time. But despite the rather embarrassing defeat to the young Indian side, Bangladesh journalists picked Ashfaq as the best player of the tournament. 2011 - More misery for Ashfaq Maldives went to the 2011 tournament in New Delhi, India with renewed hope. Ashfaq with the captain's armband scored a sublime goal to draw 1-1 with Nepal in the first match. Ashfaq was on the score-sheet again as Maldives downed Bangladesh 3-1 to book a semifinal berth. His goal was certainly one for the ages as he skipped past almost the entire defence and slotted in after rounding the goalkeeper. The commentators described his mesmerising run as a 'lion at full speed to catch its prey.' But again Maldives failed to get past India losing 1-3 in the semifinal. Ashfaq's SAFF Championship Tournaments played: 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013 Winners medal: 2008 Player of the tournament: 2008 Golden boot: 2005, 2013 Goals scored: 18 Most goals: 10 (2013) 2013 - record breaking Ashfaq The high-flying Ashfaq entered the championship in Nepal capital Kathmandu after scoring 44 goals in all domestic competitions for local club New Radiant. The in-form Ashfaq scored six in the match against Sri Lanka to lift his tally in the tournament to 14. He beat India's I.M Vijayan's 12 goal record in the process. His six goals in the 10-0 humiliation of Sri Lanka was also the record for most goals in a match by a single player in the SAFF Championship. Ashfaq continued his unplayable form as he scored four in the next match against Bhutan. But yet again India proved to be Maldives and Ashfaq's arch nemesis as they were knocked out in the semi finals. But his goal scoring feat in the tournament had foreign journalists clamouring for his interview. He captured the attention of every reporter in the tournament in addition to admiration from rival fans. That was the first time most reporters in the region had seen Ashfaq play first hand. "I saw him play on TV. But I only noticed his sheer pace after I saw him play first hand," a goal.com journalist said. A senior Indian reporter admitted that Ashfaq was 'different' than Indian legend Vijayan. "Dhangadey is stronger and quicker than Vijayan. But their styles are quite similar." Another Indian journalist claimed that Ashfaq was a class above the rest of the players in the region. "Now I admit he's the best in the region," a Pakistani reporter said after watching Ashfaq score his sixth against Sri Lanka. But sadly, this year could be the last time the region would witness Ashfaq's magic. The now 30 year old Ashfaq seemed sincere when he announced that this would be his last SAFF Championship.