Veteran striker SV Sunil calls it quits from international hockey
New Delhi: SV Sunil, the veteran forward and star striker of India men’s field hockey team, announced his retirement from international hockey on Friday.
The Arjuna awardee from Somwarpet in Coorg made a memorable international debut in 2007 at the Asia Cup in 2007 which India won after beating Pakistan in the final. The two-time Olympian remained the cynosure of the Indian forwardline for over a decade with fine performances. He was part of the Indian team that won gold in the 2011 Asian Champions Trophy, and silver in the same event in 2012.
The 32-year-old, who scored 72 goals in 264 appearances for the national team, took to social media to announce his decision. “My body says I can still do it, my heart says go for it, but my mind says: Time to take a break. More than 14 years after I wore India colours for the first time, I’ve decided to make myself unavailable for the national camp which begins next week,” said Sunil in a statement on Twitter.
The striker also has to his credit a gold and a bronze medal from the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games respectively. He was also part of the gold medal-winning team in the Asia Cup 2017. He played an instrumental role in the team’s historic Silver medal wins at the 2016 and 2018 FIH Champions Trophy.
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