Chhetri, self-effacing as ever, prefers to focus on the collective

Indian captain Sunil Chhetri in action against Pakistan in the SAFF Championship 2023 at the Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru on June 21, 2023.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Sportspersons are great lovers of symmetry. They crave records that give a sense of completeness and have rhythmic allure — like Novak Djokovic winning all three Majors at least thrice and Usain Bolt‘s ‘three-peat’ of the 100m and 200m Olympic golds.

Sunil Chhetri’s hat-trick in the 4-0 victory over Pakistan in the SAFF Championship opener may well bring the India skipper a similar feeling. It was against the same opponent that a 21-year-old Chhetri scored his debut international goal way back in 2005.

Nearly two decades down the line, he was still haunting Pakistan, scoring his fourth career international hat-trick to move up to 90 goals, the fourth-highest tally in the all-time list behind Cristiano Ronaldo (123), Iran’s Ali Daei (109) and Lionel Messi (103).

But in his typically understated manner, Chhetri downplayed the personal milestone and sought to focus on the collective.

Indian captain Sunil Chhetri in action against Pakistan in the SAFF Championship 2023 at the Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru on June 21, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
K. Murali Kumar

“We will speak about that once I am done one day,” the 38-year-old said. “I am happy, [but] more happy and satisfied because we kept a clean sheet. It was the first target the team had set for itself.

“In tournaments, numbers will matter. At 2-0, that was the meeting we had inside [the dressing room]. When you have the opportunity, and you are dominant, you make it count. Thankfully we did that.

“There were a few good things we did and I am sure the coach will tell us things that we could improve on. Things are going to get difficult from here. But the way we are playing, we are quite confident, and playing here (Bengaluru), we always feel powerful.”

The four-goal performance can help grease the wheels of this Indian team, for at the Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar, despite winning the title, the host stuttered, managing just five goals from four games.

Indian captain Sunil Chhetri celebrates with teammates after scoring against Pakistan in the SAFF Championship 2023 at the Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru on June 21, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
K. Murali Kumar

On Wednesday, fans also witnessed some slick combination play involving the likes of Chhetri, Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Anwar Ali.

“In international games, getting goals is not easy, no matter who you are playing and where,” Chhetri stressed. “In the Intercontinental Cup, in the first game, we got two goals (vs Mongolia), then a goal against Vanuatu and then against Lebanon it was 0-0 which wasn’t easy. In the final we got two goals again.

“Yes, we did miss a lot of chances, but on the other hand, we created some. I am sure we have a lot to improve on. But we are on the right track,” Chhetri added.