We don't take technical mistakes too seriously, admits Sunil Chhetri

The captain starred with a sensational first-half volley which helped India maintain their unbeaten streak.

The Indian national football team played out a thrilling 1-1 draw against Kuwait in their final group stage match of the SAFF Championship. Captain Sunil Chhetri scored a brilliant volley to cap off an electric first-half display.

Kuwait kept testing the resilient Indian defence, which eventually conceded a goal after eight clean sheets through Anwar Ali's unfortunate own goal. Another big talking point was the sending off of Igor Stimac as the tempers boiled over down the touchline and on the pitch, as Rahim Ali and Hamad Alqallaf also received marching orders after a massive tussle.

With this result, India finish second in Group A, only behind Kuwait on goals scored. They will take on the top team from Group B in the semi-finals this Saturday. Sunil Chhetri was present in a post-match interaction with the media, excerpts are as follows.

Thoughts on Bangladesh

The Bangladesh football team have notched up a few decent results in the SAFF Championship, putting up a brave performance against Lebanon and beating the Maldives 3-1. Chhetri shared his thoughts on the Bengal Tigers, "From whatever we have seen and heard about Bangladesh, they look quite tough and have improved a lot. We don't know exactly, have to wait for tomorrow's results on who we will face, and once we know, we will watch more videos on them."

Not one for collecting praise on accolades

Sunil Chhetri is now the joint-top goalscorer in the SAFF Championship, tied with Maldives' Ali Ashfaq. Despite the significance of this achievement, Chhetri remained as humble as ever, simply stating, " I don't take these things too seriously."

Nature of the competition

The 2023 edition of the SAFF Championship has seen some positive results for South Asian football, as the teams have held their own against the invited pair of Lebanon and Kuwait. Chhetri said, "All teams are doing well, but within the SAFF Nations and beyond, we have played Lebanon and they are a good team. Kuwait also was a tough challenge."

No over dependance

Sunil Chhetri denied claims that the Indian national football team is overly dependent on his performances for goals and victories, "It is not a true statement that they are dependant on me. Without me also they have performed well. It's not about Sunil Chhetri, there are many players who will come, many who are playing well right now. People talk about me all the time, but I am just a part of the team."

About the match

Chhetri shared his thoughts and feelings after the match agaisnt Kuwait, "To a large extent we could do exactly what we had planned and trained. This team can play, and we could see that. But we managed to match their energy for the majority of the time. We did well from start to finish. The adrenaline is still running, but I think once we see the videos, we will know better. The feeling that comes to my mind right now is that of a loss because at the last moment you concede that goal. We did a lot of good things."

Defensive solidity

Barring the blemish in the form of Anwar Ali's own goal, India's defensive sturdiness has been the talk of the town, and the Blue Tigers have the numbers to match it too. Chhetri admitted that the team does not take technical mistakes too seriously, "It could have happened to any one. We didn't talk about it now, and we are all professional enough to not talk about it and nibble away at what was a brilliant performance from Anwar Ali.

"It happens, could happen to anyone. We don't take technical mistakes too seriously. We just work on out efforts. I have missed some silly goals, somebody is going to make a rash challenge and we concede a penalty, it happens. We will work on our mistakes and get better, India conceded the goal, not Anwar Ali."

Thoughts on the refereeing

Chhetri said that there will not be a substantial mental impact of Igor Stimac's absence from the touch line once again in the SAFF Championship. He said, "I don't want to get into trouble, if the coach (Mahesh Gawli) has said that the refereeing is bad, take his word. We don't know why the red card happened. There is not much mental impact on the players to play without the head coach, all the preparations happen before the game, but yes, it effects you if you don't have a leader there. For my volley, it was a great ball by Thapa."