Tags:
Journalism of Courage
After the Indian teams fourth title win in the Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia last Sunday,Indian goalkeeper Baljeet Singh Dadwal has now set his sight on the Asia Cup scheduled for next month. After all,its an event that had seen Dadwal emerge as the man of the final in the 2007 edition.
Baljeet,who also gave a spirited performance in the Punjab Gold Cup where India lost to Holland in the final,was one of the stars for India in the 2007 win and has hung on to the goalkeepers slot since then,with seasoned keepers Adrian DSouza and Bharat Chhetri confined to practice games.
The Gold Cup loss still hurts, Dadwal says,speaking to The Indian Express. We missed winning the title at home and it was a very close final. Moments like this come and go in a players life,but they make us learn. I was a youngster when we won the Asia Cup in 2007 and it gave me much-needed confidence. The Azlan Shah win will do just that for the youngsters in the current team.
The 28-year-old also believes the team gained vital exposure during the twin tours of Australia and New Zealand and that experience came handy in Malaysia. We concentrated on working on our weaknesses during those tours, he says.
The last few months have seen Dadwal practising under the watchful eyes of Romeo James,the teams assistant coach and the Indian goalkeeper in the early 80s.
Experience counts
Romeo has been quite helpful. Since goalkeeping is a specialist job,it comes with a lot of responsibility. One has to be alert all the time to anticipate quick moves. This experience comes with playing regularly and now that my place is certain,I can concentrate on my game, says Dadwal,who made his international debut at the junior level in Poland in 2000.
The Chandigarh-based player also wants to put the Beijing Olympic qualifiers debacle behind him and believes that his best is yet to come. I suffered an injury about four years back and was out from the game for almost a year. It has been a mixed journey since then,with the Asia Cup win and then losing the Olympic qualifiers. But I believe my best is yet to come, he says.
