Always want to see India playing at Asian Cup, says 'fan' Sunil Chhetri

Asian Cup in front of the passionate fans at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata, which he described as the best in India, Indian national team captain Sunil Chhetri is gearing up to take on Cambodia in their first Group D match of 2023 AFC Asian Cup third-round qualifiers on Wednesday, followed by matches against Afghanistan and Hong Kong. The Blue Tigers play on home soil for the first time in almost three years. Incidentally, the last time they played at home it was in Kolkata in October 2019.

"It will be massive, otherwise why do teams enjoy having the home advantage? And what better place to have it than Kolkata. Wherever we have played, even in Gujarat (Intercontinental Cup) last time, we had tremendous support despite us not usually playing there," Chhetri said on Monday. "There are a few pockets which are very famous for fans giving us everything they have got in numbers - Kerala, Guwahati, Bengaluru but none probably better than the Salt Lake stadium, I think along with Kochi.

We enjoy tremendous support here. The memories are still fresh from the last time we played here three years ago as far as fan support is concerned. We are really happy and I just hope everyone comes in numbers and we can enjoy the atmosphere," added the talismanic striker.

India have featured in four Asian Cup finals, finishing runners-up in 1964. In the last edition in 2019, they were out in the group stage but had impressed in a dominating 4-1 win against Thailand in their opening match. Chhetri believes qualifying for the showpiece continental event should be non-negotiable.