Sunil Chhetri, the captain of India and a gifted striker, downplayed speculation about his impending retirement on Friday, saying he has not set a date for it. The SAFF Championship 2023 Semifinal match between the Indian Football Team and Lebanon is set to take place on July 1 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, and excitement is growing for the match.
Chhetri scored five goals in the current SAFF Championship from three games, demonstrating his continued dominance of the Indian assault despite his age of 38. Chhetri, who has 92 goals and is the second-highest goal scorer in Asia, claimed he has set certain criteria to help him decide whether to put up his boots.
”I don’t know when my last game for the country is going to be. It derives from the fact that I have never had long-term targets, I think about the next match, the next 10 days. It (retirement) may come at a day when probably I don’t want to, as there are a lot of things, and I will be done. Till that time, I never think about it,” Chhetri said on the eve of India’s semifinal against Lebanon.
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”Generally, there are some parameters that I think about whether I am contributing to the team or not, whether I am able to score a goal or not, training as hard as I want or not. “
“These are some of the markers that will tell me whether I am good for this team or not. The day I see that it is not there, I am done, I am gone because there is not any other motivation for me to play.”
”But sadly, I can’t tell whether it (retirement) is in one year or six months. Fortunately or unfortunately my family is also guessing this, and whenever they mention this, jokingly, I tell my stats to them. The day I am finished with my petrol or diesel or electric or whatever I am done,” said Chhetri.
Chhetri, who now tops the list of goal scorers with five goals from three games, has been India’s major offensive weapon in this tournament. The total amount of goals includes a hat-trick against Pakistan.
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His incredible falling volley against Kuwait in India’s most recent league match served as a testament to his unwavering will to lead the team’s onslaught. Chhetri will need to be at the top of his form for India to overcome the Lebanon challenge, but this does not imply that other players would have a smaller role.
Chhetri said Lebanon are a tough side and taking them for granted might backfire. He did not read too much into India’s 2-0 victory over Lebanon in the recent Intercontinental Cup final.
”Lebanon is a tough side. We have already played them twice. I’m pretty sure they have the same feeling about us and trying to stay calm. We did our best to recuperate after so many games in such a short time,” said Chhetri.
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