'Don't win medals despite population of 1.5 billion': Sunil Chhetri’s brutal take on India’s Olympic reality

Indian football star Sunil Chhetri is known to be straightforward with his sporting opinions speaking without mincing his words. Sunil has been constantly sharing his views on the current status of Indian sports over the years. The former Indian captain recently on a podcast has shared his take on the reason behind India’s lack of medals despite a population of 1.5 billion people. The clip about former Indian football captain sharing his views has taken the internet by a storm. India has won 37 medals in Olympic history despite hundreds of athletes representing the nation over the years. India is currently participating in the Paris Olympics 2024 with a 117-member contingent.

Sunil Chhetri on Olympic success

"We don't win medals (at the Olympics) despite a population of 1.5 billion is not factually correct because we are not able to identify and nurture the talent of 1.5 billion people. China, US, Germany, Japan, Australia, Canada -- the ones who do well in the Olympics -- are miles better than us. When people say, 'talent ki kami nahi hai hamari country mei' (there is no dearth of talent in our country), it is 100 percent right," said Chhetri in the viral clip

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He acknowledged the fact that this opinion could have contrasting opinions where people can be unhappy about stating the truth. The former captain has faced backlash in the past for talking about the lack of depth of talent in the country and talked about the polarising opinion he may face.

"In identifying the talent and nurturing the talent at the right time and with the right procedure, we are way behind. And I don't care if people want to kill me for this; this is the reality," the 39-year-old said.

Sunil Chhetri recently announced his retirement from international football after the FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Kuwait on June 6 calling it a day. Sunil Chhetri, with 253 goals for club and country, has been the most prolific goal-scorer in Indian football for years. His opinion was appreciated by the users across internet accepting the hard reality. India currently has won three medal in Olympics with all the medals coming from Shooting.

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