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Sunil Chhetri is all the rage right now. While the footballer has been showcasing impeccable form on the grounds throughout his career, he was not heard of much outside the football circuit. This can more or less be chalked up to India’s dismissive attitude towards every sport other than cricket. However, things changed with the Indian national football team skipper’s appeal to the masses to come support the team during their match against Kenya.
His appeal won the hearts of many and multiple celebrities reached out in support of him. Needless to say, Indian football saw a defining moment when the stands filled with a crowd chanting for the ‘Blue Pilgrims’. Add to that Chhetri’s exemplary performance during the match with 2 goals that sealed the win for India, and he became a nationwide overnight sensation.
However, Chhetri once revealed in an interview how he initially had dreams of being a cricketer like his idol Sachin, and the heartbreaking reason why it never worked out.
In an interview with Bengaluru FC, he reveals how like most young Indian boys, he had wanted to become a batsman. He said:
“When you are a kid, you go through phases where you think you are going to be the next Leander Paes or the next Bhaichung Bhutia or the next Tendulkar. You don’t stick to one sport when you’re young. So I thought I’m going to be the next Tendulkar. I went to the coach and I said, ‘Coach, I want to bat’. He said, ‘Get your pads and bat tomorrow. We’ll have a net session for you’.
When I checked the SS bats and SG bats were like some ₹900-1000 and the pads were like same ₹500-800. So the moment I realised that the price of the bat and pads was that, finished. The dream finished there. I didn’t even have the guts to tell a guy who used to earn 8000 Rupees, my father, to give me 2000 Rupees just for my pads and my bat.”
Sunil continues on with his experiences of growing up in a middle-class family and how he has had to resort to cheating and stealing at times.
He remembers how his father used to give him the exact change required for the bus ticket. Chhetri reveals that he has often kept the money in his pocket and not bought the ticket.
He recalls one defining moment in his childhood when his mother had caught him stealing. Recounting the incident, Chhetri describes the impact it had on him:
“I used to steal money. I asked my mum, ‘I want 50 bucks’. She said, ‘no chance’. I was so desperate that I stole the 50 bucks. She came to know, of course. She tied me to a chair and gave me the beating of my life for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, she went to her room and she started crying. Then I got really scared. She held me and she said, ‘I’m so sorry that we can’t fulfil your needs that we’re making a thief out of our son’. And that’s something that really shook me. That’s something that really changed things for me. Then I realised that I cannot act like a mischievous, stupid kid.”
Despite the hardships he grew up in, Sunil says that none of it mattered back then. Not having shoes at times, not being able to afford to go for trials or a manage a proper diet seem relevant now, he says. However, he remembers that none of it bothered him then.
Watch the full interview here:
She gave me the beating of my life and then started crying. I said 'Mom, you beat me for two hours, why are you crying?' She held me close and said 'I'm really sorry we can't fulfill your needs and we're making a thief out of our son'. That really shook me. It's something that changed things for me."
Posted by Bengaluru FC on Saturday, May 20, 2017
It is said that every person has a few defining moments in their lives which show the sort of person they become. Sunil Chhetri’s insights into his background show us the non-glamourous life he led before reaching his stature. It also makes us appreciate his hard work and journey up until now that has made him the star that he his today.
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