Will be disappointed if Gurpreet, Jhingan, Udanta don’t dominate Indian Football, says Sunil Chhetri

Sunil Chhetri spoke on how crucial AFC Asian Cup for the Indian football team. (Source: PTI)

As the Indian national team prepares in Mumbai for India’s forthcoming AFC Asian Cup, captain Sunil Chhetri said on Wednesday that he hopes to see Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sandesh Jhingan, Udanta Singh dominate Indian football in the next decade.

Chhetri was quoted in a release as saying, “I really hope (that the trio are the next megastars of Indian Football). I will always put my money on them. In fact, I will be very disappointed if the trio don’t dominate Indian Football for the next decade. I also hope they get tough competition, with the U-17 and the U-16 squads pushing them further. Those batches are showing a lot of promise and doing well for us. The more the youth push their seniors, the better it for the entire squad.”

The highest Indian goalscorer also spoke about the upcoming Asian Cup. “The last time when we couldn’t qualify for the 2015 edition, held in Australia. I was really very sad. The regret of not qualifying still lingers and if anybody is to be blamed, it had to be us — the players. It is all right to find excuses elsewhere but as a professional group of footballers one should always endeavor to take our games to the next level overcoming all odds. I think that has made the difference this time around. That as a group we believed, that we wanted to keep improving and that we are enjoying each other’s success.”

Talking about the most satisfying moment in the last two years with the National Team, Chhetri said, “In addition, the victory against Kyrgyz Republic in Bengaluru was special too. They are a very good side and we had to dig deep. I have since watched the match many times and feel proud every time about the manner it was achieved.”