Sunil Chhetri’s century: A dream beyond his wildest dreams
India player Sunil Chhetri (Blue jersey no. 11) vie for the ball during the Hero Intercontinental football Cup in Mumbai on Friday, June 1, 2018. (PTI Photo / Mitesh Bhuvad)
MUMBAI: Sunil Chhetri remembers a certain photograph, taken on a June evening in 2005. During breakfast in the morning, the national coach Sukhwinder Singh had announced that the then 20-year-old will be making his senior India debut later that day. Against Pakistan, at the Ayub Football Stadium in Quetta, Pakistan, Chhetri lined-up with the Indian national team for the first time. And a few minutes into the match he opened the scoring.
“I was so happy that I forgot we were playing in Pakistan because I went near the stands and started celebrating in front of the Pakistani fans,” he recalls. “There’s a very sad photograph where I’m doing this in front of the fans, and nobody on the team followed me.”
Credit: indianexpress.com