Express News Service
The trophy cabinet at former hockey ace Vasudevan Baskaran’s home in Chennai has the 1980 Moscow Olympics gold and the 1973 World Cup silver apart from numerous national and international laurels. It could also have been adorned with 1975 World Cup gold if the then 24-year-old Baskaran was not dropped from the Indian side at the eleventh hour.
“Being dropped from the side was disheartening. Any player would have felt it. In my case, the story was different. My family was backing me. Yes, I would love to have a WC gold in my gallery. I do have a silver medal but that gold is definitely missing from the cupboard. There is always a thought that it could have been very great but I moved on from there for the passion of hockey,” Baskaran, who led India to their last Olympic gold, told this daily.
Elaborating it further, he said, “I was dropped at the last minute while someone from Punjab was picked. I even got my kit bag and everything there in Delhi before being dropped off. Anyway, I was young then and couldn’t have retaliated. I came back and played in the 1976 Montreal Olympics with almost the same squad. I went on to play till 1982. Regrets are there but not at the cost of my conscience.”
72-year-old Baskaran, however, said it was his exclusion from the 1982 World Cup squad that hurt him more. The event was held in Mumbai, then called Bombay. “The 1975 episode was okay for me as the team had won but 1982 was definitely a heartbreak. The man who replaced me had not even played hockey after 1975. How can it be justified? In 1975, I was young and didn’t have any problems but in 1982 I was the most senior player, I was outstanding in my position, outstanding in all departments. But here a man had replaced me who had last played seven years ago. I was there in the Bengaluru camp. There was a public agitation in Bengaluru after I was dropped and open letters were also sent to the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.”
Baskaran then switched to coaching and was given the reins of the junior team in due course of time. Under his coaching, the Indian team reached the final of the Junior World Cup in 1997 eventually losing to Australia. He also coached the senior team in two World Cups (1998 and 2006) apart from the 2000 Sydney Olympics when a last-minute equaliser by Poland prevented India from reaching the semifinals.
India’s chances
Given his exploits as the coach, Baskaran strongly believes that India has a good chance at the World Cup. “India is in Pool D with England, Spain and Wales. All of them are good teams. The hosts should qualify but what matters is them topping the group. The first match against Spain will be crucial. Spain has a good defence and will not allow space to play. The quicker India settle down in the first quarter, the better it will be for them. We need a good and confident start,” said Baskaran.
He also feels that this set of players are playing together for the past two-three, which will be an advantage for the team. “We have excellent midfielders like Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Surender Kumar and Manpreet Singh. Drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh, who will also lead the side, is the team’s strength. Then we have Akashdeep Singh, who can score at any time. And who can forget goalkeeper PR Sreejesh? He obviously will be a very important man for the team. Overall the team is very good,” Baskaran said.
“Being dropped from the side was disheartening. Any player would have felt it. In my case, the story was different. My family was backing me. Yes, I would love to have a WC gold in my gallery. I do…
Read More: Tale of missing WC gold from Olympic champ Baskaran’s trophy cabinet- The New Indian Express