Sunil Chhetri has introduced an finish to his practically two-decade-long international career which gave the Indian soccer followers numerous causes to rejoice. The 39-year-old has introduced that the FIFA World Cup Qualifier sport between India and Kuwait on June 6 on the iconic Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium in Kolkata might be his final international look for India.
Chhetri posted a video throughout social media platforms to announce his determination and thanked all his followers and members of the family for extending their assist to him throughout the journey.
“When I did decide that this is going to be my last game, I told my family about it. Dad was normal. He was relieved, happy, everything. It was my wife, strangely. I told her. ‘You always used to bug me that there are too many games, there’s too much of pressure. Now I am telling you that I’m not going to play for my country anymore after this game.’ Even they couldn’t tell me why there were tears. It’s not that I was feeling tired, not that I was feeling this or that. When the instinct came that this should be my last game, I thought about it a lot, eventually, I came to this decision,” Chhetri mentioned.
“The feeling that I recollect in the last 19 years is a very nice combination between duty pressure and immense joy. I never thought, individually, these are the many games that I have played for the country and this is what I have done good or bad. But now I did it. These last one and a half, two months, I did it. It was very strange. I did it because probably I was going towards the decision that this game, this next game is going to be my last,” he added.
“Will I be sad after this? Of course. Do I feel sad sometimes every day because of this? Yes. Do I feel like I’ll miss the training…that these 20 days of training and I’ll all be gone? Yes. It took time because the kid inside me never wants to stop if given a chance to play for his country. I practically live a dream, but nothing comes close to playing for a country. So the kid kept fighting and probably even in future will keep fighting inside. I think the sensible, matured player inside knew this is it. But it wasn’t easy.”
Sports fraternity reacts to Sunil Chhetri’s announcement
The former India captain led the farewell wishes for Chhetri. Virat commented on Chhetri’s video utilizing a coronary heart and mentioned, “My brother. Proud.” Indian Football additionally commented by saying, “Your legacy will inspire generations to come.”
Punjab Kings wrote, “You carried the weight of a billion dreams & put a smile on our face every time you stepped on the field. Congratulations on a wonderful career, captain.”
Sunil Chhetri’s teammate and India’s goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu additionally dropped an emotional message within the remark part. “Never wanted to see this happen , i wish I could do something to change your mind but i also understand why it is happening bhai. The whole country needs to celebrate your International career on the 6th of June the way you deserve. My Captain,” wrote Gurpreet.
