Indian football progressed well in past 10 years but still lot of up catch-up to do: Chhetri

Indian football superstar Sunil Chhetri feels the country has made progress in the past 10 years but still remains far behind other Asian powers in fields such as grassroot development and talent scouting.

Chhetri said the country still needs to do a lot of work to narrow the gap with the Asian powers and reach the top 10 in the continent.

"Not only the grassroot but also the overall development of Indian football has been good. The hard part is reaching the top 10 in Asia is still far. No matter how fast we improve, the improvement seems small as compared to other Asian powers. Where we want to reach is still far but we are heading in the right direction," the Indian football team captain told PTI.

"We are not good enough in identifying talent, infrastructure, making sure that young players get nourished food etc. We are not there yet. We are far better than we were in the last 10 years but the road is still very far. it is not the time of congratulating ourselves and being satisfied. We have to keep working hard," he added.

Asked about talent, he said, "It is better now but it is not great. Identification of talent is the first criteria of scouting and you have to identify talent at the right time.

"When a kid is 11 and when he is 14, there is a hell lot of a difference. Catching him when he is at 11 and putting him in a programme is going to be different from when he is 14. That is where we lacked. We have 1.3 billion people and it is impossible we don't have talent. We have to improve as a country (in this aspect)."
"When I go to the pitch, eat, sleep and think, I stay positive to give my best. That is the least I can do. I have to honest to my sport and give my best. So, whenever I am done, in 6 years, eight years or 10 years down the line whenever, I hope I am remembered by people as somebody who gave his best."
"His (Stimach's) philosophy and what he wants is quite clear. He is knowledgeable and the boys love him and we all have to rally behind him. Sahal, Udanta and Anirudh are flourishing under him."
Talking about the Intercontinental Cup where India lost two and drawn one match, he said, "We did not do well because a lot of players were injured and also we are doing a lot of things."