This is one of the best performances of Indian team, says Chhetri

“I’ve played international football for 12 years, and this was one of the best performances I have seen from an Indian team. At the half-time break, we got badly battered by the coach,” Chhetri said.

Sunil Chhetri celebrates after winning against Kyrgyz Republic in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The waiting media welcomed Sunil Chhetri with a loud ovation as he entered the press conference room. This spontaneous departure from professional etiquette came shortly after Chhetri’s stellar performance against Kyrgyz Republic, at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Tuesday.

The Indian skipper scored a marvellous goal — much against the run of play — to lift his side to the top of Group ‘A’ in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup (third round) qualifying tournament. The 1-0 victory came against a marauding visiting side, which dominated a majority of the encounter.

“I’ve played international football for 12 years, and this was one of the best performances I have seen from an Indian team. At the half-time break, we got badly battered by the coach. He was very angry that we were giving away possession like that in a home game. The dressing room was not a happy place. We took it all in our stride, and we showed real character to come back and win the match. This is an unbelievable feeling,” Chhetri said.

The 32-year-old rated his low, right-footed strike as one of the best goals he has scored. “This one is right up there. The importance of the goal, the way it happened, what it meant for my team, my country, my friends and my family..,” he said.

Asked to describe his emotions after finding the net, Chhetri replied, “We celebrated for about 30 seconds, and after that I told the team to focus on getting one more goal. The match was not over yet.”

A lot of credit for Chhetri’s success should go to coach Stephen Constantine. In the previous international match —a friendly against Nepal — the coach chose to rest his star player. The move worked, as Chhetri was given enough time to fully recover from a hamstring injury.

Constantine explained, “I would like to thank the medical staff for getting him fit. I’m very pleased that I didn’t play him against Nepal. If I had played him, he may not have been able to make today’s goal-scoring run.”

The national team has now notched up an impressive eight successive victories. “We have also won 13 out of our last 15 matches, which is phenomenal at any level,” Constantine said.

Before the high of Chhetri’s goal, the match witnessed a frightening collision between Kyrgyz Republic forward Anton Zemlianukhin and Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh.

A hard hit to the chest laid Zemlianukhin out. The ambulance at the venue took him to the nearby Mallya Hospital in quick time. The attending doctor told Sportstar that the 28-year-old was given treatment for a minor chest injury, and that tests revealed that he was in a stable condition. The doctor added that Zemlianukhin was advised to spend the night at the hospital under observation. The player and team officials, however, decided against it and the footballer was discharged.