Bharat Chetri counts on Nobbs effect

Arup Chatterjee, TNN | Jun 20, 2012: KOLKATA: Bharat Chetri's Bengal connection was celebrated on Tuesday as the state government felicitated sporting achievements of 'sons and daughters of the soil'. The Indian hockey skipper, who flew in for the function, was quick to see a link within that link.

"The last time a hockey goalkeeper from the state went to the Olympics, he brought back gold. I'm hoping I can do the same," smiled the Kalimpong born-and-bred Chetri, referring to Bir Bahadur Chettri's stint at the 1980 Moscow Games.

Of course, Chetri knows that competitions are not won on coincidences, and he is quick to point out that his team has prepared well for the quadrennial showpiece. He feels the new no-nonsense style they have adopted under coach Michael Nobbs and the stress on fitness will hold them in good stead.

"We used to play defensive hockey. Now we play an attacking game and try to get into the 'D' as often as possible. The more you move into the circle, the more are your chances to score. And that wins matches," Chetri said, adding: "Our style makes great demands on fitness and this is where David John, our trainer from Australia, has been such a huge influence. He has taken us to a higher plane, and we'll be among the fittest teams on the pitch when the Olympics begin."

Does India have the sort of intensity and consistency needed to do well in long tournaments like the one at the Olympics? "We have done well in recent tournaments like Azlan Shah and Champions Trophy, but I agree that there have been fluctuations in form. But that is because of a lack of fitness, when we often didn't recover enough in the one or two days between matches. I think we have addressed that problem now with our stress on stamina and strength. If we play to 70-80 per cent of our potential, we should be in the semis," he added, acknowledging the presence of Germany and Holland in India's group with "they are strong but we have also planned on how to play them, so we'll see."

Chetri reminded that as the goalkeeper, he has always had to take a leader's role, getting the whole picture from his position and shouting out directions to the players. "It's a special honour leading the country at the Olympics, but it'll be about the team," he said.

On the question of penalty corners and drag-flickers, Chetri responded with "we have let in very few goals from PCs in the last one year" even as he ticked Sandeep Singh and VR Raghunath as the "best in the business now" - embellishing his view by responding to a question with "Sohail (Abbas) was the best, but he can't match Sandeep and Raghunath at the moment".

He is, however, quick to stress that it won't be about individuals. "I think that if we are to win matches, we'll have to do so as a team," he said. I think we have a very balanced side. It's a combination of youth and experience in the side. "If we can reproduce 70-80 per cent of our abilities on the pitch, I am confident we'll get the results."

The failure to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games, the only time India didn't have a hockey team at the Olympics, did rankle but Chetri stressed it was time to move on. "That was a very sad day when we made (dubious) history. When we played in the qualifiers this time in Delhi (in February), we got together and said this mustn't happen again. You saw the intensity and the team game there... we beat France 8-1 in the final. We have put that behind us; now it's time for London."

It's time to bury the ghosts of Santiago.

(To know about Bharat see exclusive video produced by Dainandini a unit of KalimNews http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBhPruaXxpc  )
TOI, KOLKATA: Bharat Chetri, who will lead the Indian hockey team at next month's London Olympics, was among the 556 sportpersons who were awarded with a total purse of Rs 30 lakh during a felicitation ceremony by the West Bengal government at the Netaji Indoor stadium on Tuesday.
The Darjeeling-born Chetri along with 25 former sportpersons of international repute were given INR 50,000 each.
There were also cash rewards for 530 sportpersons who had won medals at various age-group events at the national level.
"We want to encourage the budding sportpersons of this state. We hope they go on to achieve something and remember this day as a milestone in their respective careers," Sports Minister Madan Mitra said.
The Awardees: Rahul Banerjee (archery), Ramnath Banerjee (paralympic athletics), Shakti Majumder (boxing), Naresh Kumar (tennis), Sobhita Chatterjee (shooting), Laxmikanta Das (weightlifting), Shabbir Ali, Prodyut Barman, Sanat Seth, Arun Ghosh, Prasanta Sinha, Paltu Roy, Ahmed Khan (football), Kuntal Roy, Pranab Banerjee (athletics), Bholanath Guin (kabaddi and weightlifting), Indu Puri (table tennis), Keshav Dutt, Yashvant Rajput, Bharat Chetri (hockey), Gorachand Sil, Suhash Chatterjee (waterpolo), Subrabhat Chakraborty, Tarit Sett (cycling); Posthumously: Monotosh Roy (body building), Sachin Nag (swimming).