In August 2008, India’s Blue Tigers prepared for the AFC Challenge Cup final against defending champions Tajikistan, knowing that a victory would end a 24-year wait to return to the Asian Cup. On the night, this daunting prospect wouldn’t be allowed any time to fester. Nine minutes, 19 minutes, 75 minutes—that’s all it took for a freshly minted 24 year old, who had dubbed those 90 minutes the most important of his career, to score a stunning hattrick. It marked what would be one of the first of many instances to come of Sunil Chhetri shouldering that responsibility for his club and country.
A mother and aunt who played for the Nepal women’s football team, a father who played in the army team, and all five maternal uncles also skilled footballers. A baby kicking a balloon before he could even walk, and later, as a boy and a man, remaining interested in kicking a ball, any ball, over anything else; even nearly four decades on. Sunil Chhetri was perhaps always destined for the beautiful game, even though neither he or his family considered it a viable career option growing up. In fact, his father was keen for his son to follow in his military footsteps.
All that changed when, at the age of 17, this boy who had never trained at any academy or represented India in the U-16s or U-19s, caught the eye of the mythical Mohun Bagan after just a few months at Hindustan FC. But destiny, fate, and luck are nothing if not accompanied by hard work. Chhetri, a slight, diminutive boy throughout childhood and in adolescence, had learned very early on that he’d have to work towards success. His earliest dribbling partner aka his mum never went easy on him—he couldn’t beat her until he was thirteen! Football may not have been a realistic dream to harbour back then, but this formative upbringing certainly equipped him with essential qualities that would help him throughout everything to come.
Artwork by Charbak Dipta
On a call over Zoom, a few days after his final…
Source link : https://www.footballparadise.com/on-football-and-india-a-conversation-with-sunil-chhetri/
Author : Anushree Nande
Publish date : 2024-07-02 13:30:00
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