Master’s class: Chhetri ageing like fine wine

PTI

Bengaluru, June 22

At 38, Sunil Chhetri is still going strong. The India captain scored the fourth hat-trick of his international career to lead his side to a 4-0 victory against Pakistan in the SAFF Championship here yesterday. Chhetri now has 90 goals from 138 matches for India.

Though never short on motivation, Chhetri said playing against Pakistan always brings out the best in him. “It’s by default, just the sense of anyone but them,” Chettri said. “Maybe it’s ingrained in our upbringing as Indians and I’m pretty sure they will say the same thing. The fact that we don’t want to lose against them comes in,” he added.

Incidentally, Chhetri had announced his arrival on the international stage against the same rivals 18 years ago. On June 12, 2005, when Chhetri scored on his India debut against Pakistan in Quetta, he would not have imagined the glistening career that awaited him.

“I got so pumped up that I ran to celebrate and put my arms out,” Chhetri said about his goal on debut. “It was pin-drop silence as the crowd looked at me angrily. My teammates did not join me,” he added.

Despite his individual brilliance, Chhetri is more concerned about the team’s performance. “In international football, getting goals is not easy irrespective of where you are playing, whom you are playing. But we have a lot to improve as matches from hereon will be tough, and we are aware of the areas to improve,” he said. — PTI

Stimac not embarrassed about red card

Bengaluru: India head coach Igor Stimac today defended his actions during the team’s 4-0 win over Pakistan in its SAFF Championship opener here, saying he “will do it again” to protect his players against “unjustified decisions”. Stimac was shown a red card for interrupting Pakistan defender Abdullah Iqbal during a throw-in just as the halftime was approaching at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Wednesday. “Football is all about passion, especially when you defend the colours of your country. You can hate or love me for my actions yesterday, but I am a warrior and I will do it again when needed to protect our boys on the pitch against unjustified decisions,” Stimac tweeted.

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