I am happy to play as long as my body allows, says Sunil Chhetri
Sunil Chhetri has said that representing the Indian national team is the biggest honour for him and he will continue doing it as long as he is capable of it. Chhetri has also stated that more importance should be given to the finishing skills of the Indian footballers from a young age.
With a vast experience of international and league football, Sunil Chhetri is the biggest name in Indian football in this era. He has 67 international goals to his name and the Indian skipper is the second highest on the list of international goal-scorers as far as the active footballers are concerned. Chhetri is 34 now but he is of the opinion that he will continue representing the country as long as his body will permit and he is capable of doing it.
"I'm happy to do it for as long as my body allows me to. It has been the biggest honour of my life and career to play for the country and I will keep at it as long as I am capable of doing it," Chhetri told IANS.
After playing under legendary Bhaichung Bhutia in the Indians side, Chhetri went on to become the best striker of the country and also went on to lead the national team. However, India is yet to produce a good striker after the senior pro. Chhetri himself has explained that there are number of reasons to that.
"We, as a country, haven't been able to produce the number of strikers we should have over the last five to seven years and there are multiple reasons for this. The over-reliance of clubs on foreign strikers was a trend that seeped some years ago and that has stayed. That said, players playing in the position need to show more hunger and desire to reach the potential they are capable of, only then will coaches be willing to take a chance with them. It's a tough situation from everyone's point of view,” explained the Bengaluru FC player.
"Also, a lot of emphasis should be given to finishing skills from a young age. It isn't an easy skill to acquire and is probably the most important one in a game. Repeated and correct training from a very young age will go a long way in fixing this problem. The small details need to be drilled in early.”
When asked about Bhutia’s role in shaping his career, Chhetri replied, "Bhaichung bhai had a big influence on me and I was fortunate enough to spend a considerable amount of time with him while I had just begun my career as a professional footballer. His work ethic and desire were second to none and he always looked out for me."
Get updates! Follow us on
0
0
0
0
0
0
Comments
Sign up or log in to your account to leave comments and reactions
0 Comments