Kalyan Chaubey has reasons to be upbeat these days. India’s three tournament wins this year, including the recent SAFF Championships, and the Sports Ministry greenlighting the football teams’ entry into the Asian Games have energized the sport.
Chaubey, the president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), called it a new dawn in Indian football. "This has been a new dawn of Indian football and we will collectively continue to work towards developing the sport. Stakeholders' participation is equally important in this journey, as much as our fans' support," the former India goalkeeper told PTI in an interview.
This year saw the men's team win the tri-nation tournament, Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championships. It also cracked the Fifa top-100 for the first time since 2018. The women’s team reached round two of Olympics qualifying. Besides, the sport was getting healthy viewership on YouTube.
"The combined viewership of the SAFF Championship on our YouTube channel saw an impressive influx of fans participation, [and] our women's team progressed to the Round 2 of Olympics qualifying," Chaubey said.
Chaubey confirmed that Sunil Chhetri will lead India at the Asian Games, to be held from September 23 to October 8. Chhetri, goalkeeper Gurpreet Sandhu and star defender Sandesh Jhingan will form the senior nucleus of the side. The rest of the players will be youngsters, as mandated by the rules (born not before January 1, 1999). Many of the youngsters are already playing for the senior team.
Igor Stimac will be the Indian manager in Hangzhou.
"This is correct (Chhetri to be in the team). We intend to send the best of national teams for both men's and women's competitions. It's a matter of reputation for India to field the best competitive team," Chaubey said. “Having Sunil Chhetri to lead this team will bring in a lot of value. Coach Igor Stimac's experience will also come into play in preparation for the event.”
