Sunil Chhetri usually never talks about retirement or his future plans. He’s one of those athletes who has firmly maintained that his focus is always on getting better as a player day-by-day. But after scoring a 90th minute winner against Myanmar in India’s first match of the 2019 Asian Cup Qualifiers, he seems to have had a rethink.
“The 2019 Asian Cup finals will probably be the last biggest tournament I play. And on that route, this was an important goal. If I play the 2019 finals, there will be very few reasons for me to keep dreaming thereafter,” Chhetri said when he was asked why he rated his goal against Myanmar at par with his hat-trick in the AFC Challenge Cup final in 2008 (which resulted in India qualifying for the 2011 Asian Cup).
The 32-year-old Indian captain then added that he would like to end his Bengaluru FC career in three to five years.
Chhetri’s goal meant India won in Myanmar for the first time in 64 years, and was an important step towards ensuring qualification for the finals in 2019. Kyrgyzstan and Macau are the other two teams in the group from which only the top two will qualify after playing each other twice (home and away).
The win could also take India into the top 110 of the FIFA rankings. India play Kyrgyz Republic in their next qualifier on 13 June.
Feature image source: Puma