Chhetri hopes India punch above weight at Asian Cup

Set to be the country's first to play three Asian Cup finals, the India captain says he deferred retirement because of the World Cup qualifiers

A short video on X, formerly Twitter, posted by All India Football Federation shows Sunil Chhetri playing keepyuppy. Following Chhetri using his feet and thighs to keep the ball off the ground, the camera catches the glaring white of floodlights blending with the mellow orange of the setting sun in Doha. The post on the India national teams' official handle is captioned: "What pure joy looks like."

Chhetri is less than seven months from his fifth decade and the oldest outfield player in the 2024 Asian Cup, the second oldest in the competition after Thailand goalkeeper Siwarak Tedsungnoen who will turn 40 in April. No Indian has ever played three Asian Cup finals and no player in this edition has as many goals, 93. At 145, he is also the tournament's second-most capped player, his international career having begun in 2005. He is also a new dad. "You want to be with the kid and mother all the time," he said, finishing a granola bar.

But he also "wants to do more" and is one of the fittest in the squad. So, the Asian Cup will not be his final international competition. "We have got very important games against Afghanistan, Kuwait and Qatar and I will be available," he told HT.

India play Afghanistan in March and Kuwait and Qatar in June. That's as long Chettri is willing to think of now. "My head is not equipped to see very far." Four years ago, after the heartbreak against Bahrain - "we needed a draw, they are a good side but not Japan," Chhetri said with a grimace in the Zoom callhe didn't see himself at another Asian Cup.