Page 3 - Sunil Chhetri

This team fights, no matter where and against which team: Sunil Chhetri

Inspirational Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri on Thursday attributed the country's SAFF Championships triumph to the fighting spirit of the team while also lauding the support of the home fans. India fought hard against two strong West Asian countries in Lebanon and Kuwait to beat them in penalty shootouts in the semifinal and final respectively and lift the title for the ninth time at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Tuesday. The two teams were invited for the south Asian regional tournament to make it more competitive. "One thing I can tell you about this team is (that) we fight," Chhetri, who was named the most valuable player of the tournament, said in a video uploaded on his Twitter handle. "No matter what, we fight. No matter where we are playing, we fight. And no matter who we are playing with, we fight. We always do that," said Chhetri, who turns 39 next month. Chhetri played all the 120 minutes in both the semifinal and the final. He scored in the penalty

SAFF Cup Final: India win their ninth title, beat Kuwait 5-4 on penalties

Indian football team lifted its nith South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship trophy after the Igor Stimac-managed side beat Kuwait 5-4 on penalties. The regulation time finished 1-1

Don't know when will be my last game for India, says Sunil Chhetri

India skipper and mercurial striker Sunil Chhetri on Friday played down the talks about his retirement saying he has not put any timeline for himself to bid adieu to the game. Chhetri is 38 but still continues to be the spearhead of Indian attack, evidenced by the five goals he netted in the ongoing SAFF Championship from three matches. "I don't know when my last game for the country is going to be. It derives from the fact that I have never had long-term targets, I think about next match, next 10 days. It (retirement) may come at a day when probably I don't want to, as there are a lot of things, and I will be done. Till that time, I never think about it," Chhetri said on the eve of India's semifinal against Lebanon. Chhetri, the second highest goal-scorer from Asia with 91 goals, said he has set some parameters for himself to determine about hanging his boots. "Generally, there are some parameters that I think about... whether I am contributing to the team or not, whether I am abl

SAFF Championship: India bank on Chhetri magic to overcome Lebanon in semis

India will bank on the striking prowess of their talismanic captain Sunil Chhetri to tame a formidable Lebanon in the SAFF Championship semifinal here on Saturday. India, the defending champions, entered the semis as the second-placed team behind Kuwait from Group A while Lebanon topped Group B in their march to the last-four stage. Chhetri has been India's primary weapon in this tournament, as he has so far netted five goals from three matches to sit on top of the goal-scorers' list. The count of goals includes a hat-trick against Pakistan. The sensational tumbling volley against Kuwait during India's last league match underlined his still burning desire to lead the team's charge. Chhetri will have to be on top of his game for India to hurdle over the Lebanon challenge, and this is not to say that others will have a lesser role. The likes of Sahal Abdul Samad, Mahesh Singh and Udanta Singh will have to up the ante to support their skipper. All of them have had their moments in the

SAFF Championship: India beat spirited Nepal 2-0 to qualify for semifinals

Captain Sunil Chhetri found the target yet again as India beat a spirited Nepal 2-0 in their second group match to book a berth in the SAFF Championship semifinals here on Saturday. Chhetri (61st minute) scored his fourth goal of the tournament before Mahesh Singh (70th) struck to notch up the home side's second consecutive win. India had beaten Pakistan 4-0 in their opening match on Wednesday with Chhetri scoring a hat-trick. Chhetri (91 goals from 139 matches) had already become the second most prolific scorer among Asians -- after Ali Daei (109 from 148 matches) of Iran -- and third among active players in the world. He is the most prolific goal-getter among active Asian players. With six points from two wins, India qualified for the semifinals from Group A along with Kuwait (also six points), who beat Pakistan 4-0 earlier in the day for their second victory. India play Kuwait on June 27 to decide the group winner. Nepal and Pakistan are out of the reckoning for a semifinal spo

Sunil Chhetri announces wife's pregnancy after scoring 86th goal for India

Sunil Chhetri pleasantly surprised fans when he announced his wife's pregnancy after scoring his 86th international goal. India enter Intercontinental Cup 2023 final with 1-0 win over Vanuatu

India vs Kyrgyzstan: India bags Hero Tri-Nation trophy defeating Kyrgyz

India defeated the Kyrgyz Republic in Hero Tri-Nation friendly trophy and retained the cup, and Sunil Chhetri scored his 85th international goal in this match

ISL 2022-23: Odisha, Goa fight for playoff spot but not against each other

ISL, unlike most football leagues, does not work on a league system, but rather follows an American-style playoff format. As a result, the top six teams at the end of league stage make it to playoffs

Messi's World Cup triumph to Ronaldo's fall: Football's journey in 2022

Messi established himself as the greatest of all time by winning the World Cup but Ronaldo had to part ways on a sour note with Manchester United

Puma names Anushka Sharma brand ambassador, aims to boost women's business

She joins 30-35 other brand ambassadors such as husband Virat Kohli, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Yuvraj Singh; will endorse brand's footwear, apparel and accessories, including select collections

PM hails captain Sunil Chhetri after FIFA releases 3-episode series on him

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hailed Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri after FIFA released a three-episode series on the player's life and career, and said this will boost the sport's popularity in India. World football governing body FIFA has released the series on the life and career of Chhetri in recognition of his achievements and goal-scoring exploits. "Well done Sunil Chhetri! This will certainly boost football's popularity in India," Modi tweeted. FIFA announced that the three episodes are available on FIFA+, its streaming platform. "You know all about Ronaldo and Messi, now get the definitive story of the third highest scoring active men's international. Sunil Chhetri | Captain Fantastic is available on FIFA+ now," the FIFA tweeted from its World Cup handle.

Sunil Chhetri melts hearts with tweet after first ever Durand Cup victory

Talismanic India footballer Sunil Chhetri has said it would have been a "shame" had an Army kid like him not been able to win the Durand Cup in his professional life.

National Sports Day: Quotes, significance and top 20 Indian sports players

National Sports Day is celebrated globally to honour the sportspersons, traditional sports, sportsmanship and national sports teams. Read this article to know more about the day

Asian Cup Qualifiers: India ready to crush 171st ranked Cambodians

Skipper Sunil Chhetri will get a chance to bolster his tally of 80 international goals as the Indian team gears up to steamroll 171st ranked Cambodia on Wednesday

India loses friendly football match against Jordan for 0-2 in Doha

India suffered a 0-2 defeat to Jordan in an international football friendly here on Saturday, as the return of talisman Sunil Chhetri not proving to be enough for the Blue Tigers. The 91st-ranked West Asian side left it late as Monther Abu Amara (75th minute) and Abu Zraiq (90+4) found the net while India, placed at 106th in the FIFA rankings, barely managed a shot on target at the Qatar Sports Club. India, who are preparing for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup final round qualifiers, will take on Cambodia on June 8 in Kolkata in a Group D match. The match was India's last preparatory outing ahead of the Asian Cup Qualifiers. Having gone into the breather goal-less, substitute Monther Abu Amara put Jordan in front when he found the top corner of the net with a first time shot from the edge of the 18-yard-box. Abu Amara then turned provider as he received the ball from Mohammad Abu Zraiq and then pushed it back to the latter, whose attempt went past Indian custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, wh

ISL: East Bengal know what Chhetri is capable of, says coach Renedy

SC East Bengal interim coach Renedy Singh is well aware of the mayhem Bengaluru FC captain Sunil Chhetri can cause at any given time during their match.SC East Bengal will be hoping to put the past behind them as they get ready to battle it out against Bengaluru FC in 2022's first Indian Super League (ISL) match at the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim here on Tuesday.In his first game in charge for SC East Bengal, Renedy faces a familiar foe in the form of Chhetri."It is not an advantage at all that Sunil Chhetri has not scored in this season's ISL because we all know what Sunil does and what he is capable of. He can come out good in any given match. We should be careful and concentrate on the whole BFC team," The SC East Bengal website quoted Renedy as saying.With a new coach in the form of Renedy Singh at the helm of affairs, SCEB will be pumped up to change their fortunes going into the new year. The side looks to be more confident after playing out a 1-1 draw against high-flying ..

When Chhetri went past Pele and women braced for their moment of reckoning

Heading into 2022, the sport continues to yearn for that big success story, that massive breakthrough, which will transform it forever, especially from on-field performance point of view

Neeraj, Mithali, Chhetri among 12 athletes conferred Khel Ratna Award

Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, wrestler Ravi Kumar, para shooter Avani Lekhara, Sunil Chhetri and Mithali Raj were among the 12 athletes who received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

India win 8th SAFF Championship title, Chhetri equals Messi 80-goal record

Talisman Sunil Chhetri equalled the iconic Lionel Messi with his 80th international strike as an inspired India blanked Nepal 3-0 for their eighth SAFF Championship title here on Saturday

Chhetri scores 77th goal as India beat Nepal 1-0, equals great Pele

Talismanic captain Sunil Chhetri equalled the legendary Pele with his 77th international goal as his 83rd minute strike helped India beat Nepal 1-0