Sunil Chhetri celebrates 38th birthday today: A look at his records and achievements

Sunil Chhetri, captain of the Indian football team, is one of the most active goal scorers in the country. He is the leading goal scorer in international football for India as well as in domestic football tournaments. The Asian football icon celebrates his 38th birthday today.

Here is a look at some records held by the Indian captain.

1. He is the all-time top goal scorer for the Indian national team, and he is also the most-capped player.
2. He is the highest goal scorer in Indian professional football leagues as well.
3. In 2011, Sunil Chhetri was awarded the SAFF championship player of the tournament.
4. He has also been named the AIFF Player of the year five times — in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2017.
5. He was the player of the tournament in the I-League in 2016-2017 and the Indian super league season 2017-2018.
6. He is ranked among the highest number of goal scorers in international matches along with international icons such as Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
7. He was awarded the Arjuna award, the second highest sporting honor of India in 2011 for his immense contribution to the sport,
8. He holds the record for the most hat-tricks for India (three) in international football and he has been successful in scoring those against teams like Vietnam, Chinese Taipai, and Tajikstan.
9. He has scored the most goals by an Indian in AFC Competitions. He has a total of 19 goals in the AFC Cup and AFC Champions qualifiers.
10. He is the first Indian player to have played in three different continents- Asia, Europe (Sporting Club de Portugal) and North America (Kansas City Wizards).
11. "He is also the highest Indian goal scorer in National Football League (NFL, India) / I-League history with 90 goals."