'I laugh when media asks about Sunil Chhetri's retirement,' claims India legend IM Vijayan | OneFootball

Indian footballing legend, IM Vijayan has hailed the impact that Blue Tigers skipper and talisman, Sunil Chhetri has had on the footballing landscape in the country while revealing that he "laughs" when the media asks him about his retirement from the sport.

Chhetri is widely considered to be the greatest player to come from India and he is also the country's all-time record goalscorer and appearance maker with 84 and 129 to his name respectively.

Despite being 37-years-old, Vijayan believes that Chhetri still has a lot to offer on the field and still has a lot of goals left to score.

"Sunil is a marvel. He is a personality and a player that all players should emulate. His goal in the match against Afghanistan was of excellent quality. All youngsters need to see and learn how easily he handles open chances. I laugh when the media asks about his retirement," he said at a media interaction.

"With such a level of fitness playing with such sincerity, he still has a lot to gain. As the Indian team coach said, he still has a lot of goals left to score. One of them could be from the World Cup," Vijayan added.

The record AIFF Player of the Year winner for his part has been in brilliant form in the recently concluded 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, scoring four goals in three games - with his performances being one of the key reasons why India have qualified for the main tournament.