The evergreen Bengaluru FC forward first appeared in the AFC Asian Cup™ back in 2011, which was also held in Qatar, and he returns to the Gulf country for his third continental appearance.

India’s most capped player and the fourth highest men’s international goalscorer of all time has won numerous accolades for club and country and is once again looking to galvanise his beloved nation at the upcoming quadrennial showpiece.Born in a footballing family, the start of Chhetri’s professional career began in Kolkata, when he signed for Mohun Bagan in the year 2002.

After initial struggles, Chhetri established himself in the side, which eventually prompted a national team call-up, and it was a dream debut for the then 20-year-old as he went on to score against Pakistan in Quetta.

It would be the start of his epic love story with the national team as Chhetri was once again at the forefront when he scored his first international hat-trick against Tajikistan at the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup final which confirmed India’s spot amongst the continent’s elite for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, ending a 27-year drought in the process.Indian football had found its new poster boy and several years later it remains the same with the forward ageing like a fine wine.

The 2011 edition did turn out to be a tough campaign with India finishing bottom of a difficult group featuring Australia, Korea Republic and Bahrain although Chhetri did manage to find the back of the net against the latter two.

At club level, Chhetri’s talents took him to Kansas City Wizards and Sporting Lisbon, and at one point he was even close to signing for QPR only to be denied the necessary work permit.

Disappointing spells abroad coupled with the heartbreak of missing out on qualification for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup unleashed a new version of Chhetri at his new home Bengaluru FC and it was there for everyone to see.The forward would go on to score 11 continental goals over the course of the next three seasons in the AFC Cup™, with Bengaluru narrowly missing out on the title to Iraq’s Air Force Club in 2016, becoming the first and only Indian club to reach a continental club final.

During those years, there were moments of pure individual brilliance from Chhetri with a stunning long range strike that eventually eliminated defending champions Johor Darul Ta’zim in 2016, one that instantly springs to mind.

In the following season, Bengaluru were remarkably, once again, on the verge of reaching the AFC Cup final only to suffer an aggregate defeat to FC Istiklol in the Inter-Zone final, while it was Altyn Asyr who beat them in 2018 in the Inter-Zone semi-final. And in all those continental forays, it was Chhetri who continued to lead from the front.A maiden Indian Super League (ISL) title followed in the 2018-19 season before returning to the AFC Asian Cup stage in 2019 in grand fashion, scoring two goals against Thailand in a 4-1 victory, in what was the nation’s first AFC Asian Cup win in 55 years.

Despite registering a win for the ages, India went on to lose their following two group stage matches against hosts UAE and Bahrain to suffer a disappointing exit at the group stage hurdle.Following the appointment of Croatian icon Igor Štimac, a new era dawned for the Blue Tigers with Chhetri remaining as the central character of the plot.

The national team captain continued his old habit of scoring crucial goals, netting four in three matches against Hong Kong, Cambodia and Afghanistan during qualification for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 in Kolkata.

During this calendar year, Chhetri has scored nine international goals, which includes a hat-trick against Pakistan in the SAFF Championship, held in Bengaluru, as the 39-year-old lifted the trophy for the fourth time in his career.The timeless icon scored his 93rd international goal against Malaysia in October, and having penned a new one-year deal with the option of an additional year at the start of the season, the Bengaluru hero shows no signs of slowing down.

Chhetri & Co. once again recorded a famous result when they beat Kuwait 1-0 for their first away win in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 22 years, with the defeat in the following match to reigning Asian champions Qatar doing little to deter the spirit amongst the Indian football faithful.

The man they call Captain, Leader, Legend will once again lead out the country at the upcoming AFC Asian Cup with the heartbeat of a 1.4 billion people’s nation ready for what could be his final swansong on the big stage.