Sunil Chhetri gave priority to the national team on the question of ‘club vs country’

Indian football proved to be a ‘loser’ on the difficult question of ‘club versus country’ regarding the Hangzhou Asian Games, but the country’s great footballer Sunil Chhetri rose above all this and gave priority to national responsibility. Charismatic striker Chhetri has created many national records in his 18-year long international career.

Many Indian Super League (ISL) clubs had refused to release their players for the Asiad but 39-year-old Chhetri decided to lead the national team. Last month, the 22-man squad for the Asian Games was announced but 13 players were not released by their respective ISL clubs, including defender Sandesh Jhingan and number one goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) after much difficulty selected a second-rate 18-member squad in which Chhetri is the only known face.

“He (Chhetri) is such a prestigious player and this is not even a very strong team,” an AIFF official told PTI. But he remained firm and said that he wants to play for the country in the Asian Games and he is ready for them. Salute to him. ”He said, ”We knew that he would rise above all these issues and give priority to the nation and he did so. Six players from Chhetri’s club Bengaluru FC were included in the initial squad of 22 footballers, in which Gurpreet was also present. But the club released only two players, apart from Chhetri, the other one is Rohit Danu.

“Of course his (Chhetri’s) club said yes and released him,” the official said. Therefore credit also goes to Bengaluru FC. The club has made a sacrifice by releasing their best player when it is not even the FIFA window. Clubs are also under no obligation to release their players as the Asian Games do not fall within the FIFA international match window. Football competitions at the Asian Games are basically under-23 competitions with each team allowing three players over the age of 23.

Chhetri will be participating in his third Asian Games. When he was 22, he played for the first time in the 2006 edition under the guidance of England coach Bob Houghton. Then Bhaichung Bhutia was the captain of the team who was included as a player above 23 years of age. India was eliminated in the group stage. Chhetri was included as an over-23 player for the 2014 edition in Incheon, Korea, and was the captain of the team. India’s campaign ended in the group stage here too.

Chhetri has scored 92 goals in 142 matches for India, which is the most goals by any Indian. He is third after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in terms of goals scored among active players of international football. He recently became a father, but still decided to travel to China for the Asian Games. An AIFF official said, “Chhetri has also made a sacrifice that he is leaving his child and wife and going to play for the national team, which not many players do. ,

Chhetri was not with the Indian team participating in the King’s Cup in Thailand as he was with his newborn and wife. The Indian team is expected to leave for China on Saturday. The team will start its Asiad campaign with a match against China on September 19, after which the team will face Bangladesh on September 21 and Myanmar on September 24. The top two teams from the six groups and the four best third-placed teams will make it to the pre-quarterfinals.

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