It is good to see Sunil improving as dead-ball player, says Renedy Singh

It is good to see Sunil improving as dead-ball player, says Renedy Singh

SportsCafe Desk

By SportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Former Indian footballer Renedy Singh has revealed how a young Sunil Chhetri started taking penalties for India and is today the dead-ball specialist. The 2011 Asian Cup participant has also asked the Indian team to go all out against Thailand to win the opening tie before thinking about the others.

The Indian team has vastly changed from the side that had represented the team in the AFC Asian Cup seven years back in 2011. A young Sunil Chhetri then wasn’t the go-to guy for India as Renedy Singh and Stephen Dias were the dead-ball specialists. In fact, Chhetri has been the only player from that side to still remain in the side.

Heaping praise on Chhetri, who has been leading the side by example, being its highest scorer now, Singh revealed how Chhetri took on the responsibilities from dead-ball situations and has today improved into one of the specialists.

"There are many players who have been doing well recently. But for me, Sunil sets the best example. He has done so well consistently over the past few years. He may not be growing younger, but most significantly, he's not just there to support. He is there to lead by example," said 39-year-old Renedy to the official website of All India Football Federation, reported PTI.

"… one fine day, he walked up to me and said, 'Renedy-bhai, you can't take both free-kicks and penalties. I want to chip in too. So we decided that Sunil will take penalties, and we would continue taking the free-kicks. But he did not stay content with the penalties. Rather, he improved himself as a free-kick taker. In fact, he has scored from many free-kicks since then," added Renedy." added Renedy.

India are pitted against Thailand, UAE, and Bahrain in the group. And Renedy, being part of the side that had lost all the group matches back in 2011 (against Australia, South Korea and Bahrain), has advised the side not to focus on anything but to win the match.

"We have to go all-out against Thailand in the first match. Do not think about UAE, do not think about Bahrain. Just go after the result in the first game. Only after the match, we can decide on the next course of action. If they can get a result against China, we should be able to do the same against Thailand," said Renedy.

India start their Asian Cup campaign on January 6.

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