Shillong makes history but fans disappoint

Shillong: Sunil Chhetri, the man of the moment, was present on the pitch in the Indian jersey from the very beginning here at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday.
But the fans were conspicuous by their absence in large numbers. The official attendance was just 6798 as announced in the public announcement system of the stadium.
Going by the craze around the sport here, the stands were expected to be packed and there were enough reasons for that, too. Not just because it was a first-ever international game in Shillong, it was Chhetri's first match too in national colours after he was coaxed out of his retirement by India head coach Manolo Marquez earlier this month.
However, the barely half-full stands were sent into a tizzy when the talismanic India striker scored his 95th international goal towards the end.
The fans were here for him for sure because throughout the match they only shouted ‘Indiaaa, Indiaaaa' and ‘Chhetriii, Chhetriiiii'. And many a times they requested India's all-time leading scorer to score one here, too, shouting, ‘Sunil bhai, baas ek goal chahiye (Sunil, we just want a goal from you)'. And he obliged.
After the match, one young fan in his teens, who was literally on crutches, said with joy, "I just wanted to see the match for Chhetri and he scored, too. It was truly the icing on the cake for me. I never thought I could see him play here as he retired last year. But I am overjoyed that he scored."
The youngster, who didn't want to be named as he lied to his parents for coming to the match, broke his leg last week in an accident. His parents don't know that he came to the stadium to watch his hero play in India colours.
However, asked about the lukewarm response, Meghalaya Football Association (MFA) officials said that it being a weekday as well as a friendly could be a reason for low turnout. But they expect it to be housefull when Bangladesh come calling next Tuesday.