Chhetri set to complete 15 years in Intl football

New Delhi: India football captain Sunil Chhetri is on the verge of adding another feather to his already illustrious cap as he is set to complete 15 years on the international arena this week.
The official handle of Indian football team acknowledged Chhetri’s feat and dedicated a post to him on popular social media platform Twitter.
They also stated a hashtag – #15YearsOfSC11. Their post read: “Captain Marvel @chetrisunil11 completes 15 glorious years in International football this week. Chhetri took his maiden bow for the national team in 2005 and has featured in 115 matches thus far and found the back of the net on 72 occassions.
The star India striker is only behind Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in the list of active players with the most number of goals scored for the national team. Recently, the AIFF had paid tribute to Chhetri as he played his 100th international game this week two years ago. He became only the second Indian to do so after legendary Bhaichung Bhutia.
Chhetri had scored twice on the 100th appearance as India had gotten the better of Kenya 3-0 in the Intercontinental Cup in Mumbai.
Former India defender and Mohun Bagan legend Subrata Bhattacharyya on Monday said one of the first things he saw in Sunil Chhetri was his desire to learn.
“When you are assessing young footballers — perhaps once in a lifetime, a player would come along to lift your heart. I probably did not feel that way that morning.
“But what I did see were two teenagers who showed hints of promise, and loads of desire, and ambition. Those two kids were Sunil Chhetri and Subrata Paul.”
“With regards to Sunil, he did show traits that could make him a top striker. He had good pace, and his shooting was more than decent. What really struck me was the desire he showed.” He added. (Agencies)