We won’t be easily defeated at the Asian Cup, asserts Sunil Chhetri
Sunil Chhetri has stated that it would not be easy for other teams to face the Indian team in the Asian Cup as the latter hates to lose and they have already proven that in recent times. Last year, India played two draws against China and Oman, ranked better than the Indian team at 76th and 82nd.
The Indian football team is all set to start their AFC Asian Cup campaign on the 6th of this month playing their first match against Thailand. Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri, who is the only player apart from goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, to have participated in the Asian Cup event earlier, has sounded confident about the Indian squad stating that they hate to lose.
"I can assure you that it won't be an easy job for other teams to face us. We are a team who hate to lose, and we have proven it in recent times. We are working as per the plan. All of us are super excited and thrilled right now. Apart from me and Gurpreet (Singh Sandhu), it's a first-time experience for all else. Everyone is ready to grab this opportunity (of playing in the Asian Cup)," Chhetri was quoted as saying by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) website.
India had failed to qualify for the Asian Cup the last time around and would play the tournament after a gap of eight long years. In the current tournament, the Indian team has been set in the Group-A along with hosts UAE, Thailand and Bahrain. After playing Thailand on January 6, India would play the hosts on 10th and Bahrain on the 14th of this month.
"At the moment, our sole focus is on our opening fixture - the game against Thailand. We are not looking anything beyond that. Yeah, there are matches against UAE and Bahrain lined up but we will think about them only when they come. At the moment we know that Thailand will be a very tough opponent and we are concentrating only on them," said the skipper, who is set to become the only Indian to feature in two Asian Cup tournaments," he added.
On a personal front, if everything goes as expected, Chhetri would be expected to break the record of former Indian captain Baichung Bhutia’s record of most number of games for India. Currently, Chhetri has represented India in 104 games and he will equal Bhutia's record of 107 games if he plays all the three league games for India at the Asian Cup.
"It feels good when I get a record under my name. But I don't keep track of records. After 10 seconds, I just forget it. I never take any pressure of chasing any record. I never ever dreamt that I would play more than 100 games for India or score 60-odd goals," Chhetri said.
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