Once you look again at images of the Indian hockey crew on August 5, 2021, you see 19 boys grinning ear to ear, their eyes moist, holding or biting the valuable bronze medal hanging from their necks.
Amongst so many medals, it’s straightforward to overlook a sure Krishan Bahadur Pathak smiling like others however with out the steel. Of the 19 boys who travelled to the Tokyo Olympics, solely Pathak returned with out the prize as he was a standby to major goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and didn’t get to play even a single recreation on the Oi Hockey Stadium.
Not like worldwide hockey federation (FIH) tournaments the place the squad is eighteen, Olympics permits an outfit of solely 16. Pathak, Varun Kumar and Simranjeet Singh travelled to Tokyo as standbys after FIH and Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) launched the alternate participant rule on account of Covid-19. Whereas Varun and Simranjeet bought video games, Pathak remained on the bench.
However the 25-year-old says it doesn’t hassle him because the crew is his household, crediting the togetherness for his or her achievements. “The crew is like my household. It has been since my junior days. They be certain nobody is drowning in despair so we’re at all times doing one thing collectively,” says the goalkeeper, who has 80 worldwide caps underneath his belt.
“After the pandemic, we’ve grow to be even nearer and bought hooked up to one another emotionally. We talk about all conditions overtly. That’s what makes our crew so nice. It is the emotional bond we now have with one another and the understanding we provide to one another.”
There’s one more reason why Pathak feels that further join with the crew. The goalie misplaced his mom when he was solely 12 and his father a couple of years later when he was travelling with the junior nationwide crew to England in 2016. So virtually, the hockey crew has been his household ever since.
“Even now, significantly on the times when the crew does nicely or we have come again from a tour, successful laurels for the nation, I really feel extraordinarily unhappy that my dad and mom aren’t right here to share my happiness. It does really feel very empty at occasions however my teammates at all times guarantee I’m by no means left to myself within the room. By some means, they know when I’m low and there may be at all times somebody within the room to raise your spirit,” stated Pathak, who was a part of India’s Junior World Cup successful crew in 2016.
Second keeper
Ever since his debut in 2018, Pathak, a product of the well-known Surjit Singh Academy in Jalandhar, has at all times been Sreejesh’s understudy, the crew’s second keeper. He has carried out nicely to not simply have maintained his spot for the final 5 years however has additionally grown within the function, retaining at bay many different keepers aspiring to take that spot.
“He has grown so much (as a keeper). Final time I felt that Sreejesh and Krishan had been positively No 1 and a pair of with fairly some area of their degree. However now it’s a lot nearer as a result of (chief coach) Graham (Reid) has given Krishan fairly some matches so his confidence is far larger. He performed some actually necessary matches and performed rather well so that could be a massive confidence booster,” says well-known goalkeeping coach Dennis van de Pol.
Van de Pol, who’s a coach with Drijver Goalie Academy in addition to the Royal Dutch Hockey Affiliation (KNHB), educated Indian keepers in a short stint in 2019 and nearly in 2020-21 earlier than the Olympics. He returned to Bengaluru in December to coach Indian keepers forward of the all-important World Cup. Considerably, the Dutchman may even help the crew in the course of the World Cup in Odisha. “Now, Krishan can also be getting extra into the chief place that Sreejesh has. He’s additionally telling the blokes what to do, one thing that wasn’t there final time,” stated van de Pol.
Ever since becoming a member of the setup in 2019, Reid has frequently made Sreejesh and Pathak swap each quarter throughout video games. The concept was to offer the second keeper as a lot publicity as potential in order that when the time arrives, Krishan is able to face anybody. “I don’t assume you may ever say he lacks motivation. That’s the key for him; his professionalism. Through the Professional League too, he stepped up when required and if he is required to do this in the course of the World Cup, I’m very assured that he’ll,” stated the Australian.
Coaching, taking part in and sharing ideas with a stalwart like Sreejesh, a two-time FIH Goalkeeper of the Yr, additionally helped the 25-year-old elevate his personal requirements, not too long ago manifested by two Participant-of-the-Match awards Pathak earned throughout Professional League video games towards Spain.
“I used to be a second goalie myself and that’s actually the onerous half about being a goalie – there’s only one spot. Lacking an Olympic medal in fact motivates you numerous that ‘I need to take that spot subsequent time’. I’m 100% positive he needs to go for it and take that spot as rapidly as potential and never wait till Sreejesh will stop. Because the final time I used to be there, Krishan had made essentially the most enhancements. That’s a extremely robust level for him and good for India to know they’ve a such a robust goalie behind Sreejesh,” says van de Pol.
Not like the Olympics, Pathak will play on the World Cup – his second at house after Bhubaneswar 2018 – and is motivated than ever to return house with a medal. “We actually need to win a medal at this World Cup. We need to keep away from a repeat of 2018 in any respect prices (India misplaced to Netherlands 1-2 in quarter-finals),” concluded Pathak.