Sunil Chhetri, the Atlas who held Indian football aloft, retires

Towards the later stages of his playing career, Sunil Chhetri often exhorted Indian fans to turn up at the stadium to provide moral support to the Blue Tigers in different competitions.

This Thursday, 6 June, it was a 58,000-plus crowd that spontaneously turned out at the cavernous Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata, to watch the Pied Piper of Indian football one last time — in his blue shirt, playing against Kuwait in a crucial FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier, his last match before his retirement.

The match ended in a hard-fought, often physical, goalless draw — which jeopardises India’s goal of reaching a historic third round, but it is clear that football in India will have to walk miles to get to another crowd-puller of Chhetri's calibre.

The arterial road running in front of the stadium, as well as the other approach roads, were clogged by blue shirts this day — almost all with 'Chhetri' emblazoned across the back. That one Indian football jersey seemed to unite many demographics — across age groups and including women and children — raising hope that there is a sporting life beyond cricket in this country.

‘Thanks, captain, leader, legend’, read one banner appreciating the man who stood tall in his scoring abilities while plying his trade for a country that is now ranked a mere 129th in the FIFA rankings and has never qualified for the World Cup.

While his 94 international goals from 150 matches (until today's) leaves him in 'only' third place among the top international goal-getters in active football — after the mighty CR7 and Leo Messi — a video message ahead of the game from Croatian icon Luka Modric, wishing Chhetri luck ahead of his final game, spoke to his significance in the sport.

Speaking right after his intriduction to both teams, Arup Biswas, the state minister for sports and youth affairs, doffed his hat to the retiring legend:

"We are fortunate to witness his last international fixture in Kolkata as he started his professional career here as a teenager,’’ Biswas concluded.