Introduction

India became the champions of the Intercontinental Cup as they beat Kenya 2-0 in the final on 10th April. Sunil Chhetri, captain of Indian team, paved the way for his team by scoring both the goals. He inspires millions of kids in our country to take up sports as a career.

India V Kenya- Match Highlights

India beat Kenya 2-0. Both goals were scored in the first half by Indian captain and skipper Sunil Chhetri. Second half of the game belonged to Kenya, even though they failed to change the score. The game took place in a packed Mumbai Football Arena. In a country like ours where professional players in this sport are relatively low, support is crucial. In the initial few matches, the crowds in the stadium were minimum. After expressing this concern on social media, our captain got the stadium packed for the finals.

Hard work and Dedication

Team India was top notch in all departments right through the tournament. The team’s defence was rock solid and the players were excellent on the field. Shot-stopper, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was at his usual best with his brilliant saves. Their hard work payed off as they proved to be the better team, clenching the title of Intercontinental cup champions. All across our country there are children training day and night to improve themselves in this sport. Hard work is a must to succeed in any field, especially sports. Football is a serious profession and kids should be encouraged to take it up as a career as well. If they are encouraged to put in hard work and dedication towards the game we can expect to see many more successes in the future.

The Sunil Chhetri Fever

The ‘Sunil Chhetri fever’ is now getting contagious, not just among football fans but also among people who don’t follow the sport as much. The spike in interest of this sport in our nation can be credited to this talented man’s zeal and devotion to his game. After scoring 2 goals and leading the Indian team to victory on the finals day of the Intercontinental cup, the skipper achieved the incredible feat of scoring 64 goals in 102 appearances, equaling Lionel Messi’s record in international football, making him joint second highest scorer on the table, just behind Real Madrid forward, Cristiano Ronaldo. His thoughts on the youth in football and training: “As a player, you always want more days to prepare. But that’s not going to happen. For the young ones, it’s a little bit difficult, because they haven’t played much.” The captain of the team believes that all that is required is a little more effort from the government’s side as well as the public to take football to great lengths in India.

Future of Indian Football

There is always room for improvement. To improve the team and ensure more great victories like this one, we must recruit more players into the sport. Sports should be seen as a legitimate career. Even those who are not interested in playing the sport, support is crucial and very much needed. If the public puts enough effort, the government can be pushed to help out the team and financially guide it to achieve a better level of playing. Wider audiences will raise higher income, which will encourage not only the players, but all the important authorities as well. We must ensure that this profession kicks off well in our country so we can take home many more victories such as this one.

The Next Steps

Now that Indian football in picking up, the main focus for Indian football should be to recruit more of the youth to take up the sport as a serious profession. Students who already have a passion should be encouraged and given more opportunities. More girls should also be encouraged to come into the field of sports. More tournaments should be held to spark more interest in the sport. Better funds from the government and high quality grounds will go a long way in helping India train its future team to take the lead in this daunting field.