"Indebted to the sport, my team": Sunil Chhetri

Sunil Chhetri (Pic: File Pic)

Inching closer to his international retirement, Indian football star Sunil Chhetri said that he is indebted to his teammate and the sport for helping achieve many things in Indian football.

The Indian football team arrived in Kolkata for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Kuwait on June 6. It will be Chhetri's final outing for India.

As the players exited the airport, Chettri was the man to gain everyone's attention. "These last few days, I've been caught in a bit of a dilemma. Now that there's a number to my days with the national team, what's the right route to take - do I count every day, every training session? Or do I simply turn up without the thought of how this is coming to an end?," said Chhetri.

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Featuring 150 international matches, Sunil Chhetri has so far scored 94 goals. He said he is counting his blessings every day. "Over time, I seemed to have found middle ground. They say, count your blessings. And every single day I get to be on the pitch is a blessing that I've never taken for granted.

"So I've decided to count my sessions, but with a deep sense of gratitude. There's no apprehension. Instead, there's a feeling of being indebted to the sport, to my team, that I get to do this.

"If I could, I would capture this feeling in a box. Or instead, I'll take it to my next training session." Any India match in the City of Joy draws much fanfare. However, this is not just any international game.

If they manage to get those three points, the "Blue Tigers" will take a giant leap towards their first-ever appearance in Round 3 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, while also inching closer to automatic qualification for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027.

Earlier this month, Sunil Chhetri announced that on June 6 he will play his last match for India. After Bhubaneswar, India number 11 and the other 26 around him will continue their training camp in Kolkata, where they will have their first on-field training session on Thursday.

(With PTI Inputs)