'He wasn’t happy': Sunil Chhetri's father reveals when the striker wanted to take NDA exam
Sunil Chhetri played his last international match against Kuwait on June 6
Sunil Chhetri's father Kharga Chhetri has revealed that their son was on the verge of taking theNational Defence Academy (NDA) exam and join the armed forces,even after having made his club debut. Ahead of Chhetri's final international match on Thursday (Jun 6), Chhetri Sr. spilled the beans on how the tour of Pakistan ignited the belief in the forward that football was his life.
Kharga said owing to his army background, he wanted Sunil to either join defence by taking the NDA exam or the prestigious St. Stephens College in the capital city of Delhi.
"Even after leaving Bagan after three years and joining JCT, initially, he wasn’t very happy. At the time he used to still consider taking his NDA exam. He was there in Punjab with his books while playing in the league for JCT," Chhetri Sr. told the Indian Express newspaper.
"But it was once he got into the Indian team, played under Sukhwinder Singh and made his debut against Pakistan that he finally felt like this was going to be his life from now on."
Chhetri's decision to stick to football turned out to be glorious as he went on to score 94 goals for the country - making him thethird-highest active goal-scorer after Cristiano Ronaldo (128) and Lionel Messi (106).
He remains the fourth-highest all-time top scorer in men's international football after Ronaldo, Ali Daei (109) and Messi. He will also retire as the second-highest goal-scorer from Asia, underlining his legendary status.
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Chhetri's legacy
Such has been Chhetri's legacy thatCroatia and Real Madrid legend, Luka Modric sent a heartfelt video message to Chhetri and wished him best of luck for the final swansong.
"Hi Sunil! I just wanna say hello and wish you all the best for your last game with national team. Congratulations on your career. You are a legend of this game, and to your teammates, I hope you make his last game special and unforgettable. Good luck and win for your captain. All the best and love from Croatia," said the Ballon d'Or winner.
Despite the accolades and tributes pouring his way,Chhetri, who draws curtains on his 19-year-long illustrious career, preferred to only talk about the massive task at hand on the eve of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers match against Kuwait.
"It's not about me and my last match. I don't want to address it again and again. We really want to win this game. This is not going to be easy, but we are ready. We will have tremendous support," said Chhetri.
The match against Kuwait takes place at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata and gets underway at 7 pm IST (1330 GMT).
(With inputs from agencies)