Chhetri lists goalless draw against Qatar as "standout moment"
Sep 10, 2020
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 10 : India's senior football skipper Sunil Chhetri on Thursday listed the goalless draw against Qatar as a standout moment for him in his career.
It was on this very day last year that the Blue Tigers had managed to hold Qatar to a 0-0 draw in Doha in a World Cup qualifier match.
"It is not every day that you hold the best side in Asia to a clean sheet in their own den, a team that scored against every other Asian opposition that year. Of all the matches I have been a part of over the years, this stands out right up there with the best," the official website of All India Football Federation (AIFF) quoted Chhetri as saying.
Chhetri had missed this particular match due to fever and he did not even turn up to the stadium because of bad health.
"One year on from the result, I still find it hard to recall how many times I have felt the way I felt that that night in Doha. I couldn't be on the pitch with my fellow Blue Tigers but the way they played and the heart they showed, they gave me a memory to cherish for a lifetime," Chhetri said.
"Towards the end, both sides started pushing aggressively for the go-ahead goal, even my volume levels went up and I was screaming like crazy. The tension was too much to take," he added.
India had entered the match with no run of form behind them and no one gave a chance to the Blue Tigers but Igor Stimac's side presented a pleasant surprise for everyone.
