File image of Indian football team.© AIFF

Former Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia expressed hope that this year will be a fine one for the Indian football and said that the team needs a consistent striker to replace the retired legend and former captain Sunil Chhetri. Bhutia was talking to ANI in Siliguri and said, “After a disastrous 2024, I hope 2025 will be a good year for the team. We have the Asia Cup qualifier which I believe we will be able to qualify. We have got a couple of good matches coming, some friendlies. The team also looks good.” Talking about replacing Chhetri, Bhutia said that the team needs someone who can score goals as consistently as the 40-year-old icon.

“There are some good players coming up. Hopefully this year, we can get our next Sunil Chhetri. There is a gap within the team and there is still a search for it. There are not many strikers consistent in goal-scoring. But there are some good players like Liston Colaco and Manvir Singh (from Mohun Bagan Super Giant) who are playing well,” he added.

Bhutia said that the team needs to start winning as they did not register even a single win last year and they need to boost up their ranking for the sake of qualification for future competitions and the team’s confidence.

“The team needs more time in terms of training and preparations for the Asia Cup. The Coach is new (Manolo Marquez). Although he knows most of the players from ISL (Indian Super League), knowing players more will help him coordinate,” he added.

India was drawn against Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangladesh in Group C of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round. The draw, which saw 24 teams divided into six groups of four, was held at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on December 9, 2024.

Only the six group winners will qualify and join the 18 teams who have already punched their tickets to the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 after the second round of qualifying. The Qualifiers Final Round will be contested over six match days in a home-and-away format between March 25, 2025 and March 31, 2026. India, aiming to qualify for three successive Asian Cups for the first time in their history, will begin their campaign at home against Bangladesh.

India has faced all three opponents in the recent past. The Blue Tigers last faced Bangladesh in the 2021 SAFF Championship, Hong Kong in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in Kolkata in June 2022, and Singapore in the Hung Thinh Friendly Tournament in Vietnam in September 2022.

As of now, India is ranked at 126th in the FIFA Men’s Football Team Rankings.

A cricket World Cup, half a dozen Olympic medals and two chess world champions. Year 2024 gave the average Indian sports fan unprecedented reasons to celebrate as peaks outnumbered the valleys in a confident march towards a promising future. Tales that bear repeating were many but the year going by will primarily be remembered for four dates — June 29, July 30, December 12 and December 28. A big step towards the future was the formal expression of intent to host the 2036 Olympics, a move that has the potential to change the sporting landscape of the country.

When sport shone through in its purest form

On a humid and nervy June evening in Barbados, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team won a long-awaited World Cup title after more than a decade of heartbreaks in knockout matches of ICC tournaments, the feat matching the country’s undisputed status as the game’s most influential voice.

A month later, effervescent pistol shooter Manu Bhaker became India’s first athlete post independence to win two Olympic medals in a single edition, showing incredible mental fortitude to exorcise her Tokyo demons and write one of the best redemption stories at the Games.

Also in Paris, one of India’s greatest ever, unassuming javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra embodied excellence like few others and climbed into a galaxy of his own by winning a silver medal, three years after his historic gold at Tokyo Games.

India had hoped for a gold from the reigning world champion, but it was ultimately not to be as he lost to Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem who bettered a Games record that had stood for 16 years, not once but twice.

In the last four months, the chess board became India’s happy hunting ground with both the men’s and women’s teams knocking off Olympiad gold medals for the very first time in September. Individually, D Gukesh and Koneru Humpy then scaled new heights with world titles in December.

While Gukesh dethroned China’s Ding Liren to become the youngest ever world champion at 18 on December 12, the 37-year-old Humpy won the women’s rapid world title for a second time in her career, continuing to be an inspirational tale of perfect balance between motherhood and professional success.

Things like this do not happen often.

Speaking of that, another major highlight of India’s Paris campaign was the hockey team’s second successive medal (bronze), proving that lightening can in fact strike twice.

But then six near-misses in the French capital were also a reminder that plenty more needs to be done before being duly recognised a sporting powerhouse.

Also leaving a lasting impression were the para athletes with their record-breaking feats at the Paris Paralympics, and veteran tennis star Rohan Bopanna’s Australian Open men’s doubles title victory at 44.

Also scripting history was the women’s table tennis team of Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Ayhika Mukherjee, Suthirtha Mukherjee, and Diya Chitale. They secured India’s first-ever medal (bronze) at the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

But before the success in the Olympics, the Paralympics, Chess Olympiad and the FIDE World Championship, the Indians were rejoicing in a magnificent title triumph in cricket, which came about after years of disappointments in global tournaments.

Indian cricket reigns supreme on and off field

Displaying absolute dominance, India imposed their collective will upon the world to win a trophy that they so desired, much to the delight of the team’s millions of fans across the globe.

However, while they ended their winless run in global events, India’s 12-year streak of not losing a Test series on home soil snapped in the most embarrassing manner — a 0-3 whitewash to a New Zealand side missing its talisman Kane Williamson.

Amid the euphoria over a massive World Cup triumph, cricket’s financial superpower also tightened its vice-like grip on the game’s governance with Jay Shah’s ascent to the ICC chairmanship after the BCCI reported an overall revenue of Rs 20,686 crore for the 2024 financial year, which is almost Rs 4200 crore more than their revenue in 2023.

Gukesh defies description in memorable year for chess

In winning the FIDE world championship as a teenager, Gukesh shattered the record held by Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he got the better of Anatoly Karpov in 1985.

Gukesh’s triumph in Singapore, as also the country’s double gold medal-winning effort at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, demonstrated India’s growing stature in the game of 64 squares.

And if anymore validation was needed, Humpy provided that in her second world rapid title in New York. She first won it back in 2019, which was followed by a maternity break. The 38-year-old’s inspiring comeback could not have gone better as she While Gukesh almost defied description by achieving a feat as big as this at such a young age, the likes of Arjun Erigaisi (21), Vidit Gujrathi (30) Divya Deshmukh (18) Vantika Agrawal (21), Chennai’s Grandmaster siblings R. Praggnanandhaa (19) and R. Vaishali (23) and veteran Tania Sachdev (38) all showed their wares while playing for sides with frightening depth.

All of them are expected to be the dominant names in international chess, making true Kasparov’s quip after Gukesh’ Candidates win — “Vishy’s children” are on the lose.

Most of them truly are his proteges. The semi-retired Viswanathan Anand, who is also a FIDE vice president now, quietly watched these exploits from behind after single-handedly revolutionising chess in India.

He had a definitive hand in shaping their careers and the players have duly acknowledged his role too.

A striking aspect of these success stories in chess, including the world championship wins, was that none of them came as a surprise thanks to a structure that is probably one of the best in the world.

Six medals and as many near-misses

India could have rewritten Olympic history in Paris but eventually settled for a 71st position among the 206 participating nations with six medals, including one silver and five bronze.

The Games will be remembered as much for the six medals as the six fourth-place finishes that resulted in heartbreaks. Most of the medals missed were by a whisker.

This is the joint-second best haul along with London 2012 and one behind last time’s Tokyo, where seven, including a gold, were won.

There were also silver linings such as shooting getting back among the medals and back-to-back bronze from the men’s hockey team, something that happened after a long gap of 50 years.

Having missed on the final after a narrow loss to Germany, Harmanpreet Singh’s India regrouped to beat Spain 2-1 and claim their second successive Olympic medal.

After her individual success, Manu partnered Sarabjot Singh to win the bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event.

Swapnil Kusale continued shooting’s resurgence by winning India’s first medal in the 50m 3 Positions — a bronze.

The 21-year-old Aman Sehrawat maintained wrestling’s medal streak — since 2008 Beijing — by finishing third on the podium in men’s 57kg freestyle.

The list of near-misses comprised, among others, Lakshya Sen, Mirabai Chanu, Arjun Babuta and Bhaker herself as she stood a great chance of becoming the first ever Indian athlete to win a hat-trick of medals at an Olympic Games.

Then, what seemed like a definite gold medal slipped through Vinesh Phogat’s grasp due to a cruel twist of fate as she ended up being disqualified for being 100gm overweight on the morning of the final, leading to a protracted legal battle which did not pan out in the manner she had wanted it to.

The never-ending administrative chaos in the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) also had a hand in pulling down what was once a flourishing sport in the country.

The unstoppable rise of para athletes

It was a year of validation for those who have supported the Paralympic movement in India. The country’s contingent bagged 29 medals at Paris 2024 for their most successful campaign ever at the Games.

India finished 18th on the overall medals table, and in all, they won seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze.

The likes of Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Sheetal Devi, Nitesh Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Navdeep Singh, Sheetal Devi, Harvinder Singh and Dharambir to name a few from the contingent of 84 athletes, emerged as new heroes after their exploits in Paris.

Mixed bag off the field

On the administrative front, the ambitious bid to host the Olympics was set in motion and a long-pending national sports bill entered the final phase of being shaped into a policy but there was no end to the bickering and turf wars that have become the hallmark of Indian sports.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has been a faction-ridden body for the longest time and the PT Usha-led current dispensation has been no exception.

The sprint legend found herself pitted against 12 members of the 15-strong Executive Council, and an ugly spat over the appointment of a CEO marred the whole of 2024.

But as has been case for many years, Indian sports has managed to flourish despite the system, riding on the sacrifices of individuals and their families most often.

The challenge going forward would be to ensure that the system steps in before it’s too late.

Eleven matches. Six defeats and five draws. Four goals scored and 15 conceded. As far as results are concerned, 2024 was arguably the worst year ever for the Indian men’s football team. It was a year that started with hopes of a strong campaign at the AFC Asian Cup. However, with some disastrous results and the controversial departure of head coach Igor Stimac, it was anything but an easy journey. Manolo Marquez taking over the reins midway but he had a tough task with the team missing their talisman Sunil Chhetri who bid farewell to the game after an illustrious career. The final half of the year saw some new faces make their presence felt for the side but sadly, the team still ended the year without a single victory.

The AFC Asian Cup campaign saw India facing tough opponents in Australia, Syria and Uzbekistan. India were unable to score even a single goal in the entire competition with just five shots on target in the three group stage matches. They were out of the group stages after conceding six goals.

It was the beginning of India’s misery as they slumped to a shocking 1-2 loss against Afghanistan at home in a FIFA World Cup qualifier match. Chhetri did find the back of the net but they were made to suffer for their missed chances as both experts and fans were left stunned by the result.

A draw against Kuwait gave some hope for qualification to the third round of World Cup qualifiers but the dreams were shattered following a controversial 1-2 loss against Qatar. The game saw India produce some good football but a horrible error by the referee spelt the end of their chances of advancing.

Following the loss against Qatar, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) decided to terminate Igor Stimac’s contract as the head coach. However, controversy ensued once again as Stimac was left fuming by the decision and he launched a scathing attack on AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey. There were allegations made on both side and it ended with a $400,000 (approximately Rs 3.36 crore) compensation for Stimac as his contract was ended early by the AIFF due to the disappointing results.

Manolo Marquez was appointed the head coach of the side and he had the tough job of reconstructing a side low on confidence and missing their star striker. Chhetri announced that he will play his final game against Kuwait and his emotional farewell left a huge gap in the Indian attack. The national side has been struggling to find a proper replacement for Chhetri and his departure left Marquez in a spot of bother.

The four matches under Marquez saw in-form players making the cut and the team leaning a lot on making use of the wingers in attack. Marquez’s first assignment was the Intercontinental Cup where they drew their first match against Maldives but were defeated 0-3 by Syria in the following match.

While the football on display was quite attractive due to the focus on midfield and more sharpness in set-pieces, the lack of goals was quite evident. The last two matches of the year saw India playing out draws against Vietnam and Malaysia with the team scoring just twice in the two matches. There were as many as four strikers used in those two matches but they did not come close to replicating Chhetri’s prowess.

While India have not won a single game under Marquez’s coaching yet, they have been successful in drawing three of the four matches. The fast-paced attacking football has already found a few admirers among the fans but it is still a long road ahead for the side. The first challenge of 2025 for the side will be to register their first win in over a year and finally attempt to solve the striker conundrum. However, it is a new era under Manolo Marquez and for the time being, it does come with new hope for the national side.

Former India footballer Sunil Chhetri showered praise on talisman cricketer Virat Kohli and said that he’s genuinely a nice guy and can crack anyone up. Chhetri and Kohli have a special and endearing relationship. Being two of the most prominent athletes in India, they have bonded by their extraordinary levels of fitness and love for both their nation and their respective sports. In an exclusive interview with ANI, Chhetri lauded Kohli and said that it’s very rare nowadays to find someone like the Indian batter.

“Yeah, these are similarities. And I like him. He’s genuinely somebody who’s a nice guy. It’s very rare nowadays to find someone who’s genuinely nice. He’s utterly funny. He can crack anyone up,” Chhetri said.

The 40-year-old added that Kohli has a distinctly different personality when he is on the pitch. Chhetri also praised Kohli’s longevity and the batter’s run in between the wickets.

“When you see him on the pitch, on the ground, you see a distinctly different personality as compared to others. Look at his longevity. Look at the way he runs between the wickets. Look at the way he applies himself. Talent is one thing, but if he doesn’t take care of himself, which he does tremendously well, he will not be able to do what he’s doing. I mean, when did you see him last not giving his best or not being fit? Making runs and not making runs is a different part,” he added.

The former India footballer added that he and Kohli bonded well because of the other things they talk about apart from sports.

“We are always respectful with each other. Him and me, we bonded more because of the reasons that we talked about. But whenever I meet different sports personalities, the common bond is always there that we play sports, we play for the country. But it’s not very often that we keep in touch. But me and Virat do because of other things that we talked about,” he further added.

Earlier in 2024, Chhetri announced his retirement from the Indian National Team. His last game for the country was against Kuwait in the FIFA World Cup Qualifier match at the iconic Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on June 6.

Sunil Chhetri kicked off his professional football journey at Mohun Bagan in 2002. Chhetri helped India win the 2007, 2009, and 2012 Nehru Cup, as well as the 2011, 2015, 2021 and 2023 SAFF Championship. He also led India to victory in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, which helped India qualify for its first AFC Asian Cup in 27 years.

Chhetri received the Arjuna Award in 2011, and the Padma Shri in 2019. In 2021, he became the first footballer to get the Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting honour.

In a career that spanned over 19 years, the Arjuna Award winner has 94 goals in 150 matches on the international stage. Interestingly, Indian football talisman Sunil Chhetri is fourth overall in the all-time international goal scorers’ list. Chhetri played a major role in India’s footballing fortunes in the last decade, earning legendary status in the nation’s sporting history.

Year 2010, an 11-year-old boy sneaks out of his bed at midnight and excitedly switches on the TV to see Spain defeating Netherlands 1-0 and clinching the FIFA World Cup title. Four years later, the boy saw Germany thrashing Argentina in the summit clash and being crowned as the World Champions. Years passed by but this beautiful sequence of following this quadrennial event still continues. However, one thing that the boy always laments is not seeing his own country, India perform in the biggest sporting event in the world.

In today’s time, it won’t be wrong to say that Indian sports department is heavily dominated by men’s cricket, seeing it’s vast popularity. However, there are millions of hearts in India who still beat for football. Whenever we think about India’s participation in the FIFA World Cup, the first question that pops up in everyone’s mind in regarding the investment in the grassroots.

Speaking of the grassroots, Rajasthan’s Udaipur is gradually becoming a new hub of Indian football and Hindustan Zinc Limited are working round the clock for the same.

“Desh ka sapna, goal hai apna (Country’s dream is our goal)”- moving ahead with this tagline, Hindustan Zinc Limited have set up the Zinc Football Academy in Zawar, a place located 40kms away from Udaipur.

Established in 2017, Zinc Football is part of Hindustan Zinc’s social initiative – Vedanta Zinc Football & Sports Foundation. It follows a student-athlete model and lays special emphasis on providing an opportunity to children to play a large number of competitive matches so that they can get enough competition exposure and one day go on to represent the state or the national team.

Started in 2017, the Zinc academy also showed tremendous results as their student Sahil Poonia represented India in SAAF Under-17 Championship in Colombo, where he bagged the Best Goalkeeper award. In 2023, he also earned the contract from Indian Super League Club, Bengaluru FC.

Apart from Poonia, defender Mohammed Kaif was another player from ZFA to represent India and become first player from Rajasthan in 40 years to play for the national team.

Kaif was the part of the Indian team which won the 2023 SAFF U-16 Championship and 2024 SAFF U-17 Championship.

Not only this, ZFA has also played a pivotal role in empowering the community girls and helping them find a future in football.

“A very less number of girls could participate at such level. We have made such arrangements for them, so that they can have a safer environment and play freely. Some girls are slowly reaching the district and state level, so definitely the future looks bright,” said Chandrakala Rao, coach U-13.

Seeing all this development, it won’t be wrong to say that developing of such academies at grassroots level can surely take Indian football to greater heights.

The Indian men’s football team will end the year without a win as it was held to a 1-1 draw by visiting Malaysia in an international friendly on Monday, extending head coach Manolo Marquez’s wait for his first victory with the Blue Tigers. A howler from seasoned goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu saw Paulo Josue put Malaysia ahead against the run of play in the 19th minute but Rahul Bheke cancelled out the lead with his 39th minute header from a corner kick at the Balayogi Stadium. Going into the game, there was nothing to separate the two sides in head-to-head results with India and Malaysia having won 12 matches each and eight ending in draws.

However, it was the 125th ranked India that kept the bulk of possession in the early part of the game, seeking to crack the Malaysian defence even as the visitors looked to settle down.

Bolstered by the return of senior player and central defender Sandesh Jhingan after almost 10 months, the Indians looked to build from the back through short passes and put pressure on the Malaysian defence.

Manolo handed Chennaiyin FC’s Irfan Yedwad his India debut and deployed him as the lone forward in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but his international inexperience showed as the 23-year-old striker struggled to outsmart his markers, as the hunt for the legendary Sunil Chhetri’s successor continues.

However, for all their dominance, the home side conceded the match’s first goal thanks to a blunder by Gurpreet who came off the line and left his post unguarded for Josue to tap the ball into an empty net after a clearance from the Malaysian defence.

The Indians did not lose heart and were on the lookout for the equaliser, which they found when Bheke headed in a corner kick taken by Brandon Fernandes. The goal came after winger Lallianzuala Chhangte won a corner on the right flank following a long ball by stopper Anwar Ali.

The second half began with hosts India looking revitalised after the much-needed equaliser.

Like in the beginning of the first half, India took control of the proceedings as play resumed after the break, with Chhangte delivering a fine cross into the box with plenty of India players hovering but the 133rd ranked Malaysians were up to the task as they thwarted the danger.

Both teams showed urgency to find the winner but were denied, with Malaysia coming close just before the final whistle.

Manolo gave chances to a lot of players who have been doing well for their respective clubs this season.

This was India’s fourth match under Manolo. Prior to this game, India drew 0-0 with Mauritius, lost 0-3 to Syria in the Intercontinental Cup, and were held 1-1 by Vietnam in their last friendly match. PTI AH AM AH AM AM

India vs Malaysia Football Match LIVE Score© X (Twitter)

IND vs MAS Football Match LIVE Streaming© X (Twitter)

India head coach Marquez Manolo has not notched up a win in three matches, and he admitted his team needs “to improve in everything” during the international friendly against familiar opponents Malaysia on Monday. Under Manolo, who was appointed head coach in July, India has so far lost once while drawing twice. India drew against Mauritius and lost 0-3 to Syria in the Intercontinental Cup in September. The team drew with Vietnam 1-1 in its last match on October 12. If the Indian team does not get a positive result on Monday, it will end the year without a win in 11 matches. Monday’s match will also be India’s last before the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers in March next year.

“Obviously, we want to win after a long time. Football is about attack, defence, transitions and set pieces. We need to improve in everything,” Manolo said on Sunday at the pre-match press conference.

“For example, people say you played a great second half in Vietnam. I say ‘yes’, but we still made some big mistake that almost made us lose the game. We need to work on that. The team with less mistakes usually are the one who wins the game.

“We will try to play a good game with fewer mistakes than Malaysia. We know the style of Malaysia, I know the coach perfectly (well). They play good football and it will be a tough game for both teams,” said Manolo.

The two sides have faced each other 32 times and there’s nothing to separate the two sides in head-to-head results. The Blue Tigers and the Harimau Malaya have won 12 matches each, while eight have ended in draws.

There is also little difference in the current FIFA rankings, with India placed 125th and Malaysia 133rd.

“It’s a friendly game but it will be good to check the level against a Pot 2 team (Malaysia) in the qualifiers. We have gone a long time without a win, so obviously we want to win. We want to show the improvement that we’ve been making in every training session,” said Manolo.

The draw for the Asian Cup Qualifiers will be held on December 9. India, ranked 125, will be placed in Pot 1, while Malaysia, ranked 133, will be in Pot 2. Irrespective of the result of the Monday’s game, India will maintain their position in Pot 1.

Manolo said senior player and central defender Sandesh Jhingan, who is returning to action after recovering from an injury he sustained 10 months ago, is the “most difficult Indian player to be replaced”.

“You don’t have these kinds of players. Not that he is Messi but because he is very important in the team, in terms of the leadership, how he performs, the character he is.” Forward Edmund Lalrindika, who accompanied Manolo in the press conference, said, “This is our third camp with coach Manolo. He is a really great coach. The preparations have been good. Everyone is comfortable with him. I enjoy training with him. We all know what he wants from us. We’re looking forward to tomorrow.” The India-Malaysia football rivalry goes back a long way — since their first meeting in a 1957 friendly in Kuala Lumpur, which India won 3-0, until last year’s Merdeka tournament semifinal clash in which Malaysia emerged 4-2 winners.

Like Manolo, Malaysia head coach Pau Martí also hails from Barcelona and took charge of Harimau Malaya in July. Under him, they won the Merdeka tournament in September and lost 0-4 to New Zealand last month.

Malaysia beat Laos 3-1 in a friendly in Bangkok on November 14 and arrived in India from the Thai capital late on Saturday night.

“I am very excited to play against Manolo. He is a great coach with a lot of experience. We are from the same city. He coached many clubs at different levels, from the fourth tier to LaLiga. For coaches from Barcelona, Manolo is an inspiration.

“He has been in India for three or four years, working with different clubs. I’m sure the Indian team will be well prepared,” said Martí.

“I believe it’s very tough to play here. We expect a very difficult game. For us as a team, we have to improve our record away from home. It’s been difficult to win away. So I think it will be a good challenge and opportunity for us,” the Malaysian coach added.