Sunil Chhetri is preparing to captain the Indian football squad at the upcoming Asian Games, which would be a watershed moment for the sport in the country. In the Asian Games club versus country debate, Indian football was the loser since the ISL refused to let the originally named players. AIFF recently released a second batch of 17-member squad scheduled to compete in the competition, which begins on September 19th. On a brighter note, Sunil Chhetri rose above all of this and prioritised national duty.
“He (Chhetri) is such a reputed player and it’s not a full-strength team. But he stuck his neck out and said he wanted to go for the sake of the country. He’s ready for the Asian Games. Hats off to him,” an AIFF official told PTI. “We knew that he would rise above all these. Would give the call of the nation priority and he did just that.”
The 39-year-old talisman, raised his hand and decided to lead a rag-tag national team after ISL clubs refused to release their players. Thirteen players, including key defender Sandesh Jhingan and number one goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, were not released by their respective ISL clubs. A hapless AIFF, was able to stitch a second-rung 18-member team. It is made up mostly of inexperienced players with Chhetri being the lone notable face.
Chhetri’s club Bengaluru FC had six players in the initial 22, including Gurpreet. They released two players, the other one being Rohit Danu.
“Of course, his (Chhetri’s) club said yes and released him. So, credit to Bengaluru FC also. The club made the sacrifice of releasing its best player when it is not a FIFA window,” the official said. The clubs are, however, are not bound to release the players as the Asian Games did not fall in the FIFA international match window.
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This will be Chhetri’s third Asian Games, the first being the 2006 edition as a 22-year-old under English coach Bob Houghton. The team was led by Bhaichung Bhutia, who was included as on the over-aged players. India drew with Hong Kong (1-1), beat Maldives (2-1) and lost to Iran (0-2) to crash out in the group stage.
Chhetri has played for India 142 times and has scored 92 goals, the most by an Indian. He is also currently the third most prolific scorer in international football among active players, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Meesi.
“Chhetri also chose to make the sacrifice of leaving his newborn baby and wife to attend to the call of national duty. It does not happen to too many players,” the AIFF official said.
Chhetri was not in the Indian team that took part in the Kings Cup in Thailand. He needed to be with his wife and newborn baby.
The Indian team, begins its Asian Games campaign with a match against China on September 19.
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