With the Asian Cup just six months away, the India number 1 says the training stint in Norway is to ensure he ‘remains sharp’ and ‘pushes the limits’. Hence, despite the ‘big’ and ‘motivating’ feat of the national team, which is yet to be beaten this year and has lifted three trophies on home soil including the South Asian title on Tuesday, Sandhu is conscious enough to look at the bigger challenges that lie ahead.
We have done it again!
Kudos to the #BlueTigers ⚽️ for holding their nerve in such a gripping encounter with Kuwait in the final & giving a scintillating performance to clinch the #SAFFChampionship 🏆🏆 for a record 9️⃣th time.
🇮🇳 is thrilled on your victory, keep shining! 👍… pic.twitter.com/lxmOzQvspt
— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) July 4, 2023
In an interview with The Indian Express, Sandhu talks about the turnaround of India’s fortunes, the two penalty saves that proved decisive, and the need to have a longer preparation period for January’s Asian Cup.
Excerpts:
The team has been unbeaten so far this year. What’s clicked?
It’s a mix of things. Having this long camp helped a lot. You play together, train together, you get to know each other more. The other reason is the players who were a bit inexperienced at the international stage are now confident. Except (Sunil) Chhetri bhai, myself, Amrinder (Singh), Sandesh (Jhingan) and Pritam (Kotal), many have between 5 to 20 appearances so far. They are maturing at the right time, peaking at the right time. But in the bigger picture, we should not get too distracted by all this, make sure our head is down, keep on working and face bigger challenges.
The two penalties you saved, one each in the semifinal and the final – was it on the back of proper homework on the opponents or just instinct?
I hadn’t even faced the players before and did not know much about them. It’s just your gut instinct. My mindset was to stay big and stay there (on the line) for as late as possible, make sure I don’t make the decision of where they hit for them. Sometimes, good penalty takers see the goalkeeper going one way and then, they just slot it on the other side. My aim was to go when the guy touches the ball with his feet and try to go to the right side.
We can’t get over this and neither can our captain 🇮🇳💙
Fans serenade @chetrisunil11 and the #BlueTigers after last night’s win 🤩😍#KUWIND #SAFFChampionship2023 🏆 #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/KJx89jdG0l
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) July 5, 2023
Was there any reason you went left both times?
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It was just me figuring it out that they were trying to trick me by showing, since they are right footed, they might go to their left. And at the last moment, they changed (their position) and pushed it on the other side. I anticipated he’s the captain (Khaled Hajiah) so he’ll try to be smart by feigning movements. I did the same. In the second one, I faked it a little bit – showed that I might go right – but I dove on the left.
India have won the SAFF title nine times. Does this one rank higher than the rest?
Oh obviously, at least among the ones I have competed in! Maybe, the 2015 edition was also very good; it was competitive. But this was even more special because of the amount of fans who turned up every single game and secondly, the competition. Having Lebanon and Kuwait accepting the invite is a big thing and it helped a lot. So, this one definitely ranks higher in terms of difficulty.
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Before the last 2-3 weeks, India hadn’t defeated Lebanon in 46 years. Kuwait, too, had beaten India 9-1 when the two teams last played in 2010. What’s the team doing right?
🎥 Pitch-side view of the perfect ending to a nerve-wrecking semifinal 🤩😍
Watch the #BlueTigers 🇮🇳 beating Lebanon 🇱🇧 4️⃣-2️⃣ on penalties UP CLOSE 👏🏽#LBNIND ⚔️ #SAFFChampionship2023 🏆 #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/BNyn3GIAwW
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) July 2, 2023
It all comes down to planning and players. Back then, maybe the players were not as physical as they are today. You see the amount of body-to-body contact that goes on. The physicality, desire and hunger show that we are not scared of you…
Then, the (game) plan: to keep the ball, not be afraid, have more composure, absorb pressure if they are pressing and if they are sitting back, make sure we are holding onto the ball and wait for the opening.
Everyone has seen the evolution of us working through it. Unfortunately, it took time to reach this stage but the credit goes to the coaching staff and the boys, who understood in the camp this is what we have to do.
ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪɴɴɪɴɢ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ 💙🇮🇳
Watch the #BlueTigers rejoice after @GurpreetGK’s penalty save 🤩😍
Yes, take a bow, OUR WALL 🧱💪🏽#KUWIND ⚔️ #SAFFChampionship2023 🏆 #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/OlzUbjVXKJ
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) July 5, 2023
You said earlier the team can’t get too carried away with what’s achieved…
It is big, honestly. I don’t remember the last time the national team won three trophies in a season at home. It is very motivating. This is something we should celebrate. But also keep our focus and make sure we are preparing even harder for the bigger challenges.
And the challenges going forward will be tougher – the King’s Cup in Thailand, Merdeka Cup in Malaysia, the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and finally the Asian Cup.
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These are good games. We should carry the momentum and make sure we are competitive.
Go with the same kind of mindset – we are going to press, we want to be physical and also we want to keep the ball. Try to dominate teams who are at par with us or better than us. In that process, you win, that’s great and if you lose, you learn something.
A nerve-wrecking penalty shootout which ended with another @GurpreetGK save and saw 🇮🇳 lift the #SAFFChampionship2023 🏆🤩
Watch the full match highlights on our YouTube channel 👉🏽 https://t.co/nqiyBhHDge#KUWIND ⚔️ #BlueTigers 🐯 #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/yuuT4jLhfY
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) July 5, 2023
You are headed to Norway now. What are you trying to achieve?
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I will be with Stabaek so obviously, a higher level of training in terms of atmosphere and the players you might be playing with. My aim is to stay sharp and not get on the slippery slope of the off-season. For me, it’s about having an edge. I am not getting any younger so I have to keep pushing my limits so I can be Sunil Chhetri, physically. I just want to keep reinventing myself.
Between now and the Asian Cup, what’ll be critical? Where’s the scope for improvement?
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Firstly, consistency. We have to make sure we don’t drop the bar. I hope everyone stays strong, keeps working on themselves and arrive injury free in January (for the Asian Cup). I just hope we get an extended period of camp before the Asian Cup because that will help, truly. Having that extended time will at least give us a chance to sort ourselves out in between the ISL and the national team plans; sort out players who maybe will come with niggles. We’ll get some buffer time. To play Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria, we need an edge, we need something extra.
