CHENNAI:With FIFA finally confirming India’s rise to a 21-year-high in its rankings, one of the happiest voices amid the celebratory din belonged to Sunil Chhetri.
Express had reported last week that India would rise to 101 on the FIFA rankings table, its best performance since the early quarter of 1996. On Thursday, this became official as the world body released their April rankings. And Chhetri, who had played a huge role in this development by scoring a winner against Myanmar in an Asian Cup qualifier around ten days back, was ecstatic. “I’ve just had a look at the updated rankings put out by FIFA, and ‘very happy’ is the simplest but most honest way to describe how I feel about being placed at 101,” he gushed.
“This achievement belongs to the team, the team behind the team, the coaching staff, the media, the fans and most importantly, to the country. On a personal note, the joy is a little more given this is the highest ranking we’ve achieved during my time playing for the nation.”
But the Bengaluru FC striker was quick to caution that the team had no time to rest on their laurels. “While we should celebrate every success, big or small, we also need to realize that the real test begins now,” he warned. “Rankings are a very fickle measurement of one’s success, and it’s best to not get carried away. You lose one game, you slide down 40 places, you win one, and you climb up 50. The real achievement will be when we cling on to this position or better it over the next three to four years. We’ll need to play more games against better opponents, and keep performing well consistently.”
India’s record goalscorer, who is now joint-third in the list of active international goalscorers alongside Wayne Rooney, is hopeful that this spike in rankings will help them qualify for continental competitions. “This change in ranking also pushes us up on the Asian circuit, and working our way up further will give us favorable draws when lots are drawn in continental competitions,” he noted. “That said, our biggest task at the moment is to make it out of the qualifiers of the AFC Asian Cup.”
vishnu.prasad@newindianexpress.com