On the eve of his 150th match for India v Afghanistan, Sunil reveals he started off as a mischievous youngster but experience made him calm over the years
India’s Sunil Chhetri during the match against Uzbekistan at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Doha last week. Pic/Getty Images
Sunil Chhetri did not need anyone to tutor him on what he had to do on a football pitch but the same can’t be said of the talismanic Indian striker when it came to things he was not supposed to do as a player in his early days.
That’s where the role of Sukhwinder Singh, the former India player and Chhetri’s first coach in international football, assumed significance.
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On the eve of his 150th match for India, the veteran recalled the contributions made by the affable Sukhwinder who “turned the little boy in me into a man.”
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“I think when I played under him, that was the right time to do so for me. Again, with the benefit of hindsight, I think I did the right thing. I learned a lot as to what not to do as a player on the pitch, and Sukhi Sir has had a massive role in teaching me things. He allowed me to do the things that came naturally to me,” Chhetri told the-aiff.com.
Chhetri might be an ice-cool presence on the field now, but Sukhwinder played a big role in instilling that calmness in him. “I wasn’t exactly the thing that a lot of people associate with me today. They call me ‘Captain Cool’, but I wasn’t always so cool and calm. I was quite mischievous, I was quite haywire.
“I tried a lot of things on and off the pitch. He helped me understand what serious football is, and with the help of others who came later as well, he had a massive role in turning that little boy in me into a man.”
In the two decades since making his international debut against Pakistan in Quetta, Chhetri has gone on to become one of India’s all-time greatest footballers, though he is not the fearless player he once was. At 39, he is a different footballer but the hunger for goals remains.
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