Indian football icon Sunil Chhetri has never been one to shy away from expressing his views on the sporting culture in India. Addressing the country’s performance in the Olympic Games, Chhetri highlighted India’s failure to identify and nurture talent at the grassroots level as a significant factor behind the lack of medals, despite its 1.5 billion population. In a podcast, he explained that countries excelling in the Olympics, like China, the US, Germany, Japan, Australia, and Canada, are far better in talent development than India.
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Chhetri emphasized that India’s issue is not a lack of talent but rather the inability to recognize and cultivate it properly. He illustrated this by mentioning a hypothetical five-year-old child in Andaman who might have potential in sports like football or javelin but ends up in a call center due to the lack of opportunities and support. Chhetri stressed the importance of nurturing talent at the right time and with the proper procedures, stating that India lags significantly in this aspect.
Known for his candidness, Chhetri affirmed his commitment to speaking the truth, regardless of potential backlash. He urged that acknowledging and addressing these shortcomings is crucial for India to improve its performance on the global sporting stage.
