Sun shines on Sunil Chhetri
NEW DELHI, August 14: Sunil Chhetri never shies away from questions - posed by journalists or defenders twice his size. He confronts them with ease as he showed with such elan at the Ambedkar Stadium on Wednesday evening.
A soon as he slammed in his third and India’s fourth goal against Tajikistan in the AFC Challenge Cup final, he attained a unique landmark in Indian football - it is a rare feat to score a hat-trick, and more so in the final of an international tournament. The stupendous 4-1 victory also put India in the 2011 Asian Cup after 24 long years.
"It’s the best performance of my career so far," Chhetri told TOI on Thursday. "But we were all very charged up and strangely very confident before the final."
This confidence saw them knock down Turkmenistan on a soggy pitch in Hyderabad and also peg back the Tajiks within the first 30 minutes in the final. "It’s perhaps the biggest change that Bob Houghton (coach) has engineered. He has made us believe that it’s all about the whole team and it’s all about confidence," Chhetri said.
The striker, who will don the red-and-gold East Bengal shirt this season, is a transformed personality since his days as a struggling, baby-faced 17-year-old at Mohun Bagan.
Chhetri took the setbacks in stride and moved on to JCT where the demands were more reasonable. "I’ve matured since my Bagan days. In hindsight, I feel the move to JCT came at the perfect moment." Under Sukhwinder Singh at JCT, Chhetri became a name to reckon with as a dreaded striker.
And then Bob Houghton happened. "He is just amazing. It’s not only about his European experience or knowledge of the game. It is also about the way he motivates players who are young and not so young. His approach is more psychological and he commands respect."
Throwing light on the change his own game has undergone, the Delhi-based striker said, "I’m making less mistakes these days. I take a lot more responsibility on the field and I’ve learnt a lot from the seniors."
The reference obviously is to skipper Baichung Bhutia with whom he has formed a fine strike-force. So is it time Chhetri takes over the mantle? "Let me make it clear again - it’s not about one player. It’s not one person scoring and winning matches for India. When Bhutia will leave, we’ll all be ready so that his absence doesn’t hurt the team. We know, how big a task that will be though."
Chhetri will return to Kolkata this time as a hero. The days of disenchantment are behind him. "It’s time for the clubs to give Indian strikers more opportunities than the foreigners. No one improves warming the bench," was his parting shot.
NEW DELHI, August 14: Sunil Chhetri never shies away from questions - posed by journalists or defenders twice his size. He confronts them with ease as he showed with such elan at the Ambedkar Stadium on Wednesday evening.
A soon as he slammed in his third and India’s fourth goal against Tajikistan in the AFC Challenge Cup final, he attained a unique landmark in Indian football - it is a rare feat to score a hat-trick, and more so in the final of an international tournament. The stupendous 4-1 victory also put India in the 2011 Asian Cup after 24 long years.
"It’s the best performance of my career so far," Chhetri told TOI on Thursday. "But we were all very charged up and strangely very confident before the final."
This confidence saw them knock down Turkmenistan on a soggy pitch in Hyderabad and also peg back the Tajiks within the first 30 minutes in the final. "It’s perhaps the biggest change that Bob Houghton (coach) has engineered. He has made us believe that it’s all about the whole team and it’s all about confidence," Chhetri said.
The striker, who will don the red-and-gold East Bengal shirt this season, is a transformed personality since his days as a struggling, baby-faced 17-year-old at Mohun Bagan.
Chhetri took the setbacks in stride and moved on to JCT where the demands were more reasonable. "I’ve matured since my Bagan days. In hindsight, I feel the move to JCT came at the perfect moment." Under Sukhwinder Singh at JCT, Chhetri became a name to reckon with as a dreaded striker.
And then Bob Houghton happened. "He is just amazing. It’s not only about his European experience or knowledge of the game. It is also about the way he motivates players who are young and not so young. His approach is more psychological and he commands respect."
Throwing light on the change his own game has undergone, the Delhi-based striker said, "I’m making less mistakes these days. I take a lot more responsibility on the field and I’ve learnt a lot from the seniors."
The reference obviously is to skipper Baichung Bhutia with whom he has formed a fine strike-force. So is it time Chhetri takes over the mantle? "Let me make it clear again - it’s not about one player. It’s not one person scoring and winning matches for India. When Bhutia will leave, we’ll all be ready so that his absence doesn’t hurt the team. We know, how big a task that will be though."
Chhetri will return to Kolkata this time as a hero. The days of disenchantment are behind him. "It’s time for the clubs to give Indian strikers more opportunities than the foreigners. No one improves warming the bench," was his parting shot.
