The last one week had been momentous for him. Qualifying for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in front of a roaring Salt Lake stadium after winning matches against Cambodia, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. He has played for the country for 17 years and has scored 84 international goals. Yet the man who met us on Thursday afternoon, all dressed up for belated Jamai Sashthi celebrations, at his in-laws’ place in Golf Green, seemed unfazed. He looked content and admitted to being satisfied, but that’s about it. Dressed in a kurta-pyjama of wife Sonam’s choice, Sunil Chhetri, the Indian football captain, chatted with t2oS on how he’d arrived at this mindset of moving on from both victories and failures, how much he was enjoying his time on the pitch and how ‘now’ was the only thing that mattered.
Congratulations! How does it feel?
Feels good. Very satisfying feeling. Calm. We worked really hard for this tournament and it was important in many ways and now that we have finished it in a successful manner... feel relaxed.
This week has been special. How did you celebrate?
I haven’t had the time to relax and think how I was feeling. I didn’t have the time to think what I have done. Just after the game, all the boys got together and we had a mini celebration. We ate whatever we wanted to and not what was needed. The way the young boys reacted was outstanding. I told them they made me really happy. And, after that it’s been interviews and family time. Today we are celebrating one of the occasions (Jamai Sashthi) we missed out on. Sonam (wife) and I haven’t had the time to sit and relax, which we like a lot. When we go to Bangalore tomorrow and it’s only going to be her and me, we’ll chill and sit and think about what has happened.
How do you deal with success? How long does it linger on and then it’s time for the next challenge?
I think it depends on a lot of things, but the most important thing is when are you playing next. The best thing about our profession is that every next week there is a game. No matter if you have been criticised or abused or you’ve got adulation, it has to go. You want it or like it or you don’t like it, it has to go because there is another game and if you want to do well in that game, all this baggage, good or bad, has to vanish.
This time we are fortunate because we have won and have 20 days, so we’ll bask in the glory a little bit more. In about 15-20 days, all the clubs will start their preseason. So, 15-20 days with the family, talking about the game, talking about different stuff, in a happy mood... is ideal. On the contrary, if we wouldn’t have done well, these 20 days would have pinched us a lot.
How do you move on? What’s your process?
It’s kind of become automatic now because you’ve got to think about the next game. If you do not detach yourself from what has happened, you will hamper the next performance also. The younger ones struggle a little bit more because they don’t have the experience of dealing with victories and losses as much as the experienced ones. It becomes your second nature. Jeta hoyechhe, sheta apnake next match e help korbe na. Even if you have done well, you have to start from zero. If you have done badly, you have to start from zero. Every week there is a game. It’s a fresh start and it keeps you humble. Which is why I keep saying sports is one of the best teachers ever. I really believe in it. Next time I am going to take the pitch, what I have done now is not going to help me. It’s again a war, a task, a fight. From experience I know this. So, now I take a day or two, depending on whether I have won or lost and then think about the next game.
The more glory and abuses you receive, the better equipped you are to deal with this in the future. The longer you play, the more you are going to get abused, miss and lose. It’s simple maths. You cannot avoid it. So, when you have those good and bad days, you know aisi hota hai. What is important is the next day and the next match and you keep going. Without sounding philosophical, it’s also life, na? You are not going to have all good days. The more good days you have, you are closer to a bad day and the more bad days you have, the closer you are to a good day. That’s why they say that process is important. You got to keep going and focusing on what you can do because a good or a bad day is not entirely on you.
You always say never lose hope and believe in yourself...
That’s important. Never lose hope because it’s one of the most fundamental needs of human beings. And, if you yourself don’t believe in yourself, no one will. Surround yourself with people who will back you. We lose a lot of athletes for this reason too. He or she is dealing with self-doubt and if there are people who don’t believe in him or her, then it’s detrimental for the progress. When your chips are down, you need all the support.
Sunil at the Jamai Sashthi celebrations at his in-laws’ place in Golf Green
How far you’ve come, it’s incredible...
Thank you, it is. Needless to say that a lot of people on my way have helped me. I wouldn’t have reached where I have reached without the help of so many of them. I neither have the time nor the inclination to think as to what has happened. Once I am done may be, I’ll think what all went well and what all I achieved.
You might be making records, but talking to you one gets a feeling that what matters to you most is that you play for the country.
That’s the prime focus. It’s every sportsperson’s dream to play for the country. The ultimate dream. There are a lot of other factors that motivates a sportsperson, but playing for the country is the topmost. Same for me.
Everything else is a bonus. Had all these things not happened, you would have still enjoyed playing for the country...
It’s a catch-22 situation because if you don’t do the other things, you will never play for the country. It’s the last step. If you do everything right, you might play for the country. And the love has increased more because I know that the number of games I play for my country, I don’t have that many games left. I know I am not going to have the next 17 years to play for the country. So, I know the time is limited. So, I grasp every bit of it. Whenever I get an opportunity to play for my country, I give every bit that I have got. Not that I score every day or don’t miss goals, but I try to enjoy it because it’s not going to last forever.
Milestones achieved in front of your family, your wife, your in-laws... at Salt Lake stadium, how special was that?
We rejoice more for the victory... me and the whole family. Thankfully, we are not about milestones. Once probably I am done, then we’ll sit and talk. Now it’s just about wins. We know win is the most important thing. We all know what win does. We have all gone through ups and downs and we know win is most important and we know second comes win, third comes win and then comes individual glory. My mum, dad, wife, sister... they all understand sports.
I still remember she (Sonam) was on the phone watching the Palestine game because she knew at noon we had qualified (Palestine defeated Philippines 4–0 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia). They knew qualification was the main agenda in these three matches.
Was there a pre-celebration?
They did (looks at Sonam). I saw some social media post... all the families and the wives did it after we left. We leave three-and-a-half hours before the game and they come just before the game. They don’t have to do the warm-up. Their warm-up was in the room is what I heard. Gurpreet (Singh Sandhu) showed me after the game.
What does qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup mean for Indian football?
I hope it means that we are moving in the right direction. I hope we can show this graph to ourselves and everyone around that we are moving in the right direction. It hasn’t been easy. I have always said without sounding harsh on myself and the team that it’s bare minimum for us to qualify for the Asian Cup. It is World Cup for the Asian teams and we have to be there to rub our shoulders with the best in Asia for many reasons, the most important one being we’ll know exactly where we stand. So, when you get the groups and you know you are going to play the likes of Japan, Australia, South Korea, Qatar, UAE, then you know exactly where you stand. We are really happy we did.
In my four tries, the first one we played in 2011, the second one we missed out and the most important people to be blamed are we ourselves, the players and now last two times we have qualified. I hope we as a nation can keep qualifying, so that every time you see us in the Asian Cup, you’ll see how much we have improved.
You are a complete team man and would surely be happy just playing for the team and scoring goals, but is leading the team to Asian Cup qualifiers special in any way?
It is special. I don’t take that too seriously in my head, but it is special when you know that you are the captain of a nation and not any nation but India, it’s a great feeling. But because it is a great feeling, I don’t think about it too much because I might lose my sanity. I try to do my simple stuff. The way I try to lead is try to be a good example. Sometimes I am going to make mistakes and say things I should not say, miss a goal and falter. In my head I know I have to keep trying. Actions speak louder than words. Try to be a good example and the boys will follow.
You back the boys with all your heart...
Oh, I love them! All of them work really hard. I can see the passion and all of them want to do well for the country. They will always have my support.
You are such a great leader. What makes a good leader?
Thank you for the compliment. I don’t think of myself as a great leader... just trying to keep it simple and lead from the front, which means doing the right things, eating the right food, sleeping at the right time, being a professional on the pitch, trying to be a good role model off the pitch. In the process you will make mistakes because you are human, but analysing and rectifying is all that is needed. Rest everything takes care of itself. The younger lot see and learn.
Sunil with wife Sonam
Are you also learning from them?
I try, always. I want to beat Udanta (Singh) in a speed race, I want to be more physical than Ashique (Kuruniyan), I want to win a header against Sandesh Jhingan and score against Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in training. One of the main reasons I am relevant even now is because the competition and toughness I get in training is top-notch. I am only as good as my teammates. All of them bring different colours and flavours to the table. I am generally someone who is inquisitive in terms of training... what is he good at, how can I improve on those things... knowing what you are good at and what your limitations are and where you have to improve is very important. Put your hands up and say you want to improve. Only then there is a chance. I really look forward to training with all the young boys I named and others. It’s fun. If you are learning and it is fun, life is good.
You keep saying you have limited time on the pitch. What do you have in mind?
I am just backing science. I don’t know how much time I have, but science has proved this that when you are 37-38, you don’t have 30 more years to play. A lot of players in the modern era or the last 20 years have a certain time period till when they play at the optimal level. I don’t know when I am going to quit playing for the country and football in general, I don’t know. There are a few criteria that I have for myself. I should be enjoying, motivated and add value to the team. If any of these things are missing, I would just walk away, because what’s the point? I’d rather do something else that makes me happy.
All the other things that a youngster looks for... the name, the money, the fame, by the grace of all the people who have helped me, I have enough. I am satisfied. It’s a privileged position to be in. All the basic needs are taken care of. Right now, I feel happy and physically I feel outstanding. So, I’ll keep going. I cannot give you a timeline....
Please don’t...
I can’t... I wish I could. It’s not that I want to drag it or give up... it’s both sides of the coin, people can speculate, but for me it’s just a feeling that’ll come and I am done. Till then I want to enjoy every bit of it.
You are studying...
I didn’t study when I should have. I am doing some courses here and there, getting some more information. I try to grasp knowledge wherever it is. I dig in a little bit more in what I like.
Physically, are you doing anything different?
I take care of my eating habits and my sleeping patterns are a little bit more fixed. I know what exactly works for me. It’s more rigid and that isn’t very nicely welcomed by my family members, especially by my wife, but it helps me and works for me. It’ a bit boring... but I enjoy the dividends that I get. That’s the only thing I have changed with age.
Finally, what are you planning to dig into today?
Everything! Today is cheat day. She (mom-in-law Lata Bhattacherjee) is outstanding. I don’t know what is better, her cooking or her love for feeding. She wasn’t very happy when I declined the offer on June 5 for Jamai Sashthi, but I told her no matter what the result is, we are going to celebrate Jamai Sashthi. A lot of things in my family works with results. She has been up since 3am.... I am going to eat everything I can. My sasu ma makes one sweet pulao which I love a lot, chholar dal, begun bhaja... posto is my favourite... both the bata and aloo posto are my top ones. Today, I have given her liberty to give me sweets too. Some two-and-half-thousand calories smashed in the afternoon.
Pictures: Rashbehari Das