Ranbir is popular, but humble: Sunil Chhetri
One of India’s most popular football players, Sunil Chhetri, began scoring goals at a very young age. “When I was young, I never thought I would make football my profession,” he says. The sportsman, who plays for a popular club and is also part of the Indian national football team, speaks with HT Café about growing up with football and his equation with Ranbir Kapoor.
Was football always your passion?
Both my mom and dad were football players. They loved the game, so I began playing too, and enjoyed it as a kid. It was only after Class 12 that I realised I wanted to take it further. Did you face any struggles? The infrastructure wasn’t great. My father is a humble Army guy, and we had a tight budget. But my parents were supportive. I had to pay attention to my academics; that was the only thing expected of me and my sister. Otherwise, they never said no to the things that I wanted to do.
Ranbir Kapoor owns the football team that you are playing for. What is the one quality about him that you admire?
He is a great guy. When we meet, we talk about sports. And I have never felt that I am meeting an actor. What I like about him is that even though he is popular, he is quite humble. I like this about John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan too; they have the same attitude. They are also heavily involved in football.
The infrastructure wasn’t great. My father is a humble Army guy, and we had a tight budget. But my parents were supportive. SUNIL CHHETRI, FOOTBALL PLAYER