: Pause, rewind, play: Sunil Chhetri scores first international hat-trick as India end Asian exile #IndiaNEWS Landmark moments in Indian football haven’t come along too often in recent years, and neither

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Pause, rewind, play: Sunil Chhetri scores first international hat-trick as India end Asian exile #IndiaNEWS
Landmark moments in Indian football haven’t come along too often in recent years, and neither do role models and heroes. But on August 13 2008, there was double delight in store for Indian football fans.India were facing Tajikistan in the final of the AFC Challenge Cup in front of a home crowd in New Delhi. The reward at the end of the game was not just an international trophy, but a place in the AFC Asian Cup finals, something that India hadn’t managed to achieve in 27 long years.The AFC Challenge Cup was a back-door entry to the Asian Cup and India were never going to get a better chance to end their continental exile. Playing in front of a vociferous crowd at the Ambedkar stadium in New Delhi helped their chances, but also added pressure.Tajikistan were no easy opponents either. India knew it well having been made to toil hard just to eke out a draw against them when the two sides met in the group stages. They had upset tournament favourites DPR Korea in the semi-finals, while India had just about scraped through against Myanmar.All eyes were on Bhaichung Bhutia, India’s centre-forward, captain, talisman and a bit more. But hiding in his...Read more

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