It was about a year after the men's hockey team's debacle at the
2012 London Olympics
- where India finished last - that the side's captain
Bharat Chetri
decided to step out of the shadows he had relegated himself to.
He wanted to coach, but he didn't know where to begin. A visit to the
Jude Felix Hockey Academy
, a nursery for underprivileged players, got him thinking.
He started training goalkeepers in the boys and girls categories, embracing the opportunity to give back to the sport.
Some five years later, on Tuesday evening at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, he received the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement.
The former India goalkeeper has spent the last year-and-a-half coaching the national men and women goalkeepers, a job which he says has been challenging and satisfying.
Having guided the women's team during their triumphant 2017 Asia Cup campaign and the
World Hockey League
in South Africa and the men's side for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games this year, Chetri has made a successful transition from player to coach.
"I've always been interested in coaching," the 36-year-old said, "After the London Olympics, when I knew my playing career was behind me, I wanted to reinvent myself. I made a small but significant start at the Jude Felix Academy. At the same time, I also started training youngsters in Canara Bank, with whom I'm employed. That gave me the confidence to aim higher."
Chetri stressed on the need for preparation. "I did a lot of homework when I took up coaching. In modern hockey it is important to keep updating yourself. So I researched a lot on the technicalities and the mental aspect of coaching. I made notes and I continue to do so. The fact that I had played the sport at the highest level really helped," pointed out Chetri, who hails from Kalimpong in West Bengal.
He grabbed the big break in 2017 when he was called up for the women's team.
Chetri said, "I saw it as a window of opportunity to train young goalkeepers. I didn't have a very successful career, at least in terms of results. So, when I left the playing arena, there were plenty of unfulfilled dreams. I wanted to live those dreams through the players who are the future of Indian hockey."
Goalkeepers in men's and women's teams are happy to have Chetri as coach, mentor and more importantly a friend who understands them.
PR Sreejesh, skipper and goalkeeper of the Indian team, besides being Chetri's understudy at the London Games, said, "I've played alongside Bharat, so when he came on board as goalkeeping coach, we didn't have to waste time establishing a rapport. For me, he is more of a mentor. I can always turn to him in testing times. He gets the goalkeepers, especially the youngsters, to keep calm in tough situations."
Chetri, who rates the Indian women's Asia Cup triumph in 2017 as the highlight of his coaching career thus far, is looking to take up FIH coaching courses to chisel his skills.
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