Draw against Qatar stands out right up there with the best: Sunil Chhetri

Bengaluru, September 10: It is exactly a year since India held Qatar to a goalless draw in Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Zone FIFA World Cup away qualifier and skipper Sunil Chhetri rates it as one of the best matches despite not figuring in the tie due to a viral illness.

Travelling to Qatar, not much was expected from the Blue Tigers, especially after they lost 1-2 at home against Oman in their opening match.

On the otherhand, AFC Asian Cup 2019 champions Qatar were literally on a roll and they had begun their World Cup qualificiation campaign in style by thrashing Afghanistan 6-0.

But at the Jassim bin Hamad Al Stadium in Al Sadd on September 10, 2019, India punched above their weight and held the formidable hosts to a goalless draw.

India hold Qatar to a goalless draw

"Of all the matches I've been a part of over the year, this stands out right up there with the best," Chhetri wrote on AIFF website.

'Every minute was like an hour' ⏱️
'My joy knew no bounds' 😍

Captain Fantastic @chetrisunil11, who missed the Qatar 🇶🇦 match due to illness, pens down his account for the Official Website ✍️

Read here 👉 https://t.co/nd6RXpAkbp#IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #BlueTigers pic.twitter.com/OvEv4l29Pj

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 10, 2020

Coach Igor Stimac made four changes to the starting line-up from the team that lost against Oman, but the biggest setback was when Chhetri could not recover in time from his viral infection.

So much so, that he did not even travel to the venue and had to watch the match from his hotel room.

"Playing Asian champions Qatar in their own backyard in a World Cup qualifier was one of those dream-like scenarios. Looking back, I could only watch the match from the four walls of my hotel room, completely glued to the TV and cheering the team on with all my heart.

"I was ill. So much so that I couldn't even go to the ground to watch. It was a torture to be left outside. Every minute went by like an hour. But, at the end, we registered a memorable result and things turned out to be rather 'sweet', in more ways than one," Chhetri recalled.

The result was described as one of the most significant for Indian football in recent times by many pundits and Chhetri waxed eloquent about it.

"When the referee blew the final whistle, I was just overcome with emotions. As the boys celebrated with the fans, I was jumping for joy in my room. It is not every day that you hold the best side in Asia to a clean sheet in their own den -- a team that scored against every other Asian opposition that year," he said.

However, India could not sustain the momentum and are now out of contention for a berth at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

India vs Qatar WC qualifier on October 8

The retun leg against Qatar will be held on October 8. It was originally scheduled to be held in Bhubaneswar on March 26, but was put off, just like most of the other sports fixtures, due to the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

After the Qatar tie, India then take on Bangladesh away on November 12 and then host Afghanistan on November 17. The matches are also part of the qualification process for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup to be held in China.