New Delhi, Aug. 2 -- Former India captain Sunil Chhetri has made an emotional appeal to the Tata Group to reconsider its decision to shut down Jamshedpur FC's first-team operations, describing the development as "a punch to the gut" and warning that Indian football cannot afford to lose one of its strongest institutional supporters.

Reacting to the club's decision in a post on X on Sunday, Chhetri reflected on the difficult state of Indian football and the importance of long-term stakeholders.

"It takes a lot to be a stakeholder in Indian football. It has been like that for some time now. But when everything around looks like it will crumble, you bank on family to hold on to each other. And more often than not, it is the elders in the h...