Sunil Chhetri: The athlete who put India football on the world map

(July 15, 2021; 7:15 pm) Sunil Chhetri may not be a name taken in the same breath as Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but the Indian footballer is nothing short of a shooting star in a cricket-crazy country. The 36-year-old striker has many accolades up his sleeve but this year’s unbelievable feat of surpassing the Argentinian football superstar as the second-highest active international goal-scorer is undeniably an applaud worthy achievement.

Chhetri is one player who has kept the football fever alive in a country like ours. From making stellar contributions in several Nehru Cup wins to weaving his magic at the AFC Cup final, the footballer has risen to the occasion when it mattered the most.

Streets of Delhi to Mohun Bagan

Born a year after India brought home its first cricket World Cup trophy, Chhetri grew up at a time when football was hardly an aspirational sport for Indians. With the likes of Sachin Tendulkar taking on the international cricket in his growing years, the 5 feet seven inches lad was keen to be the next master blaster. But destiny dealt him a different hand.

Raised in a simple middle-class family, Chhetri couldn’t muster up the courage to ask his parents to buy him a bat and pads which could cost a few thousand back in the day. So, he chose football instead. In a conversation with Sportskeeda, he said:

“The moment I realized that the price of the bat and pads was that, the dream was finished there. I didn’t have the guts to tell a guy who used to earn 8000 rupees, my father, to give me 2000 rupees just for my pads and my bat.”

Chhetri went through many hardships before getting his big break. He wouldn’t have shoes sometimes or would stitch his football shoes to continue playing as his father, an army man, couldn’t afford a new pair each time. “We weren’t poor but come 20th of every month, things started looking bit tough. I didn’t have shoes sometimes or didn’t have enough money to go for a trial or didn’t have enough money to take care of my diet.”

Stealing money

Chhetri once revealed that he used to steal money from his mother at times, but one such instance changed his life forever. He straightened up after his mother embraced him teary-eyed and apologized to him for ‘making a thief out of his son.’

“That’s something that shook me. Then I realized that I cannot act like a mischievous kid.”

He had his share of trials before getting the big break at Mohun Bagan in 2002. It was during the Durand Cup that he was playing for City FC from Delhi that he was noticed by Bagan. Seeing the teenager striking some clean goals, Mohun Bagan offered him a three-year contract. Read More