Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri announced his retirement from the game on Thursday. Taking to X, Chhetri posted an emotional video reminiscing his first day in the Indian football team setup, as he announced that the match against Kuwait in Kolkata on June 6 would be his last.
In the video, the 39-year-old reflected on his career, which began on June 12, 2005, in a friendly match against Pakistan. "There is one day that I never forget and remember quite often is the first time I played for my country, man it was unbelievable. But the day before, the morning of the day, Sukhi sir, my first national team coach, in the morning he came to me and he's like, you're going to start? I can't tell you how I was feeling man. I took my jersey, I sprayed some perfume on it, I have no idea why. So that day, everything that happened, once he told me, from breakfast to lunch and the game and to my first goal in my debut, to conceding late 80th minute, that day is probably one that I will never forget and is one of the best days of my national team journey," Chhetri shared.
Chhetri also described the emotional moment when he informed his family about his decision. "I told my mom, my dad and my wife, my family first, my dad, he was normal, he was relieved, happy, everything, but my mom and my wife started crying and I told them, you always used to bug me that there are too many games, there is too much of pressure when you watch me and now that I'm telling you that, you know, I'm not going to play for my country anymore after this game. And even they couldn't, they couldn't express to me as to why they, they burst into tears. It's not that I was feeling tired, it's not that I was feeling this or that when the instinct came that this should be my last game, then I thought about it a lot," Chhetri concluded.
Chhetri's professional journey began at Mohun Bagan in 2002. He was instrumental in India's victories in the 2007, 2009, and 2012 Nehru Cup, and the 2011, 2015, 2021, and 2023 SAFF Championships. He also led India to win the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, qualifying the team for its first AFC Asian Cup in 27 years.
Throughout his career, Chhetri has been honored with several awards, including the Arjuna Award in 2011, the Padma Shri in 2019, and in 2021, he became the first footballer to receive the Khel Ratna Award, India's highest sporting honor.
With 94 goals in 150 international matches, Chhetri ends his 19-year career as the most-capped Indian footballer and the third-highest active goal-scorer globally, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
