Nothing corrodes peak athletic performance quite like time. For ardent fans, it gives that sinking feeling; for the sight of sportspersons trying to reconcile with their ageing bodies even as they attempt to maintain the veneer of immortality that once enveloped their careers is among the most painful things to watch.
A vivid, recent example was that of 43-year-old Venus Williams, a five-time Wimbledon singles champion, braving a fall and battling hard against Elina Svitolina in the first round of The Championships before losing in straight sets.
Barely 24 hours later, in faraway India, Sunil Chhetri, soon-to-be 39, was proving to be a huge bulwark against such a march of time. He had just completed his second energy-sapping football game in a four-day window, with both matches stretching beyond 120 minutes. In the process, he had captained India to its ninth SAFF Championship triumph and the silverware was also his nation’s second in under a month.
Chhetri scored five of India’s eight goals during the competition and won the awards for the highest goal-scorer and best player. In the shootout victories over Lebanon and Kuwait in the semifinals and final, he came up with nerveless, tone-setting penalty kicks that set India on course. He then took laps of honour, participated in the Viking thunderclap routines and was repeatedly hoisted high up by his ecstatic teammates. Like Alice did in her Adventures, Chhetri had come to discover an all-new fantastical universe.
It is safe to say that Chhetri is both his club and country’s beating heart. In a decade with BFC, he has won the I-League and Federation Cup twice each and the Indian Super League (ISL) and Super Cup once. In the last two seasons, he may have lost his first XI slot, starting only 26 of BFC’s 40 ISL matches, but in clutch moments, he is still the go-to man. En route the final, he accounted for three of BFC’s five goals in the 2022-23 ISL playoffs, all of them scored after coming on as a substitute.
For India, he has 92 goals from 142 games, and is fourth in the all-time list behind Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (123), Iran’s Ali Daei (109) and Argentina’s Lionel Messi (103). He has also been part of four SAFF Championship winning squads and three at the Nehru Cup. One may question the standards of the footballing level that Chhetri has been operating at. But when presented with the opportunity to go overseas — to Kansas City Wizards (USA) and Sporting Lisbon ‘B’ (Portugal) — Chhetri welcomed the challenge without batting an eyelid
“I have played with the likes Renedy Singh and Gouramangi Singh, but to play with Sunil was a dream come true,” says Eugeneson Lyngdoh, a former BFC midfielder (2014-17) who won two Federation Cups and one I-League title alongside Chhetri. “The biggest thing for me was how demanding he was of himself.
Shabbir Ali, an esteemed former India striker, and a notable player himself, highlights Sunil Chhetri’s remarkable consistency as his standout attribute. In the unpredictable world of sports, fans can be fickle, quick to abandon their adored stars at the slightest sign of a downturn in form. Even the revered Sachin Tendulkar faced jeers in India once. Chhetri’s unwavering performance graph sets him apart and earns him admiration in a realm where loyalty can be fleeting.
“Performance matters… take my own case,” recollects Ali, of his playing days in Kolkata for East Bengal in the late 1970s. “If East Bengal or Mohun Bagan lose points before the big [derby] match, fans don’t come to watch football, because the derby match decides the champion. But they came to see my first match and we won 4-0.
“Next match, we lost to Mohun Bagan. The same supporters told me, ‘Shabbir, go back to Bombay’. If you don’t perform, age and everything will come into the picture. Every Tom, Dick and Harry, who doesn’t know anything about football, will start talking.
“So, the way Sunil is playing, you have to give him credit. Most players take it a little light this late in the career. They will just stand in one place and want the ball at their feet always. But Sunil is taking the team forward. Hats off to him.”
Undoubtedly, one of the major reasons for Sunil Chhetri’s sustained success is his impeccable physical conditioning. In today’s football, players must maintain peak fitness almost constantly. The modern game demands more high-intensity runs, defensive duties, and the ability to outmuscle opponents one-on-one.
Chhetri, having commenced his professional journey in the new millennium, has adapted his mindset to excel in these aspects and beyond. When BFC’s first manager, Ashley Westwood, shifted him to a more demanding left-sided role, he embraced the challenge and made it his own. Now, as head coach Igor Stimac emphasizes progressive football and full-throttle play for the Indian national team, Chhetri once again emerges as the leader, leading the charge with his exceptional skills and unwavering commitment.
“He is open with his willingness to look for something new,” says Spencer Mackay, Head of Strength and Conditioning at the Inspire Institute of Sport, where the Indian captain has periodically trained. “Just before Covid, as part of a much broader project, I was gathering some data from the jump routine, which is a test of lower-limb function and explosiveness through the lower body.
“I happened to look at Chhetri’s data and there were some asymmetries; the use of his left hamstring and the right quad and the balance between the two. We spoke about his injury to the left hamstring from four years prior. Probably every year, his hamstring was becoming a bit volatile by the sixth or the eighth week of the ISL.
There’s no denying that Chhetri is entering the twilight of his illustrious career. Despite this, BFC has shown confidence in him by offering a contract extension that could potentially last until the end of the 2024-25 season. Chhetri, being the consummate professional, continues to silence retirement chatter with his exceptional performances on the field.
With his sights set on the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar next January, Chhetri aims to lead India in a tough group that includes formidable opponents like Australia, Uzbekistan, and Syria. As the legendary John McEnroe wisely stated in his memoir “Serious,” the future is unpredictable, and no amount of preparation can fully brace us for what lies ahead. Nonetheless, Chhetri’s unwavering dedication and passion for the sport will undoubtedly drive him and his team as they embrace the challenges and uncertainties that the future holds.
