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Man of the moments: Sunil Chhetri looks back at life on and off the field
Sunil Chhetri has retired but isn't done yet. The legend talks about moments that defined his career. And why his biggest achievement is off the football field
Captain Fantastic. Legend. India’s top goal-scorer. Sunil Chhetri is known by many names. But perhaps his greatest achievement has been to shift the focus of a cricket-crazy country to football. Chhetri, 40, played professionally for 19 years. He was captain of the national team for twelve of them, from 2012 until 2024. Chhetri is also among history’s top scorers, managing 94 international goals across 151 matches – an achievement that’s only behind Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, Iran’s Ali Daei, and Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
So, when he announced his retirement in May, fans and athletes across disciplines mourned the end of an era. “Your impact on Indian sport can never be erased,” javelin champ Neeraj Chopra commented on his Instagram post. Singer Prateek Kuhad thanked him for everything he’d done. Abhishek Bachchan simply commented, “CAP!” Nineteen years after his first official match, and from his home in Bengaluru, he looks back at the moments that shaped his life.
That first match: June 12, 2005
Chhetri says he must have been around four or five years old when he first started kicking a ball around a field, when his family lived in Kolkata in the 1980s. He was luckier than most; his father, KB Chhetri, played on the Indian Army’s football team, his mother Sushila had been on Nepal’s national football team. “Most kids my age weren’t as fortunate to have parents who were professional football players, who’d play with them,” he recalls. Whether his friends were there or not, mum and dad, he says, were always around to show him the ropes. “I grew up knowing the sport was in my blood.”
It wasn’t until he was 20, playing against Pakistan in a three-match friendly series in 2005, that his future started to take shape. Up until then, Chhetri had only played for City Club Delhi and in domestic leagues. “Playing for the country is a feeling that is second to none. I was happy, honoured, grateful.” He was on the field against Pakistan only because legendary player Bhaichung Bhutia had pulled out after an injury. Chhetri had an injury too – a sprained ankle. But he ended up scoring the sole goal for India in the second half of the game, which resulted in a 1-1 draw.
That match marked his entry into professional football. But Chhetri says he didn’t consider it a debut at the time. “In sports, you take one day at a time. I did not even know that match would end up defining my career.” He still has the jersey .
The turning point: February, 2011
“The moment I really started feeling a shift in my journey as a player was when I became captain of the national football team in 2011,” Chhetri recalls. Coach Bob Houghton handed over the captain’s armband to Chhetri in Malaysia in 2011. He was only 28. Bhutia, Chhetri’s idol, had retired from international football two months earlier. Chhetri, by his own admission, was a backbencher and a bit of a mischief-maker who loved playing pranks on fellow players. “I knew I had to behave properly – I wasn’t just a player anymore; I had responsibilities towards my team.”
Everything changed overnight. “Earlier, I would sit at the back of the bus and create a ruckus. But I started sitting in front, thinking of the team, thinking of how to play games better.” It was a “monumental change” in his journey as a player, he says. “I wasn’t just looking out for myself, but for all of us. I found myself thinking of how to behave, on and off the pitch.”
The epic miss: November 5, 2018
Chhetri says he played some of his best football in the 2017-18 season, when he played for Bengaluru FC. “In terms of performance, we were at the top of our game.”
Then, in 2018, in an Indian Super League game against Kerala Blasters, Chhetri broke his ankle while tackling an opponent. “It was one of the worst moments,” he recalls. “I was out for six months; one of the most challenging times I can remember.” Though he was in pain, limping around the field, he continued playing, leading Bengaluru FC to a 2-1 victory. The fracture needed surgery, though, and it was when he was off the field, that Chhetri realised how much football had come to mean for him. “Missing out on goals, losing games – I was struggling, physically and mentally.”
There was no miraculous breakthrough to help him through. Chhetri healed the old-fashioned way. “I was miserable, but fortunate to be surrounded by the right people – my family, my teammates, and a great team of doctors and physiotherapists. They were all very helpful, and very positive.” He regrets pushing himself and insisting on appearing in a few matches immediately after. “It was a topsy-turvy journey. I had to just wait it out. Some days were good, and some days were bad.”
The trickiest goal: June 13, 2017
Of the 94 goals Chhetri has scored in international football, his most challenging, he says, was at the 2017 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in Bengaluru. The Indian team was facing Kyrgyzstan; they were known to be quick on their feet. Teammate Jeje Lalpekhlua passed the ball to him in an impossibly narrow space, sending the stadium erupting into cheers. “I always talk about that goal because of the way we defended our game,” he recalls. “For about 16 to 17 minutes in the second half, we were just defending ourselves.” They’d gone over their formations the day before, planning every possible opportunity to strike. Jeje got the ball, passed it, and Chhetri didn’t hesitate for even a moment, sending it straight into the net. It missed the goalkeeper by an inch. That split-second move changed the game. “To get that goal the way we did was amazing, and very fulfilling. A lot of moving parts had to come together the way they did for us to get the goal.”
In football, a single second can change the outcome of a 90-minute game. It’s precisely these last-minute finishes that the footballer uses to his advantage. And yet, Chhetri says it’s just a function of knowing how to be in the right place at the right time. “To be honest, I don’t think any goals I’ve scored were easy,” he admits. “From a spectator’s perspective, it looks effortless. But it takes the whole team to work together to get to the result.”
Off the field: June 12, 2023
Chhetri says the best moment of his life didn’t even take place on the pitch. At the 2023 Hero Intercontinental Cup, he scored a winning goal against Vanuatu at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium. Moments later, he picked up the ball, tucked it into his blue jersey, and gestured towards the stands where his wife Sonam Bhattacherjee was present. “We were expecting a baby. This is how she wanted me to announce it. That gesture was for her and the baby,” he told reporters in post-match interviews. “That goal will stay with me because of what it meant to both of us.”
Number one: December 04, 2017
And yet, with all he’s achieved, football will always come second. For his wife’s 33rd birthday in 2021, the footballer wrote in a social media post, “I chose football very early in life, and it gave me joy and happiness beyond measure. And yet, it remains the second-best choice I’ve made.” The footballer calls his wife his best friend, critic and guide. “They say the choices you make shape the rest of your life, so choose well,” he added. “I’m going to credit myself here when I say you’ve been my best decision ever.”
What’s going on in your head when you win, or when you lose?
“I go to my family, especially when I lose, to find solace. When you’re winning, everything is hunky-dory – everyone is happy and making jokes. But when you lose, or you’re not performing well, you’re always alone, except for your loved ones. Now we have a new addition to our clan – my one-year-old son Dhruv. He can’t come and watch the match yet, but it’s a comfort knowing he’s there.”
From HT Brunch, December 21, 2024
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