Baljeet looking forward to home cheer
Nitin Sharma

Chandigarh: The Indian Hockey team’s man between the sticks, Baljeet Singh Dadhwal has plenty to cheer about during the upcoming Punjab Gold Cup. After being named Man of the Match in the final of the 2007 Asia Cup, it will be the first time that the Chandigarh goalkeeper will don the national jersey in front of his home crowd.

“I have not played against Germany yet. The last time I went to Germany for the four-nation tournament after the 2006 Commonwealth Games, I did not get a chance to play. But I have been following them on video and if I perform well here, it will give me a lot of confidence as they have got some of the world’s best forwards,” says Dadhwal, who made his international debut at the junior level in Poland in 2000.

Adrian D’Souza is the other goalkeeper in the Indian team and Dadhwal rates the experience gained from the likes of Bharat Chetri and D’Souza high.

“All three of us share a good rapport. Bharat and Adrian started much before I did and I believe this healthy competition motivates us. We share regular inputs regarding our game and we also watch match videos after team meetings,” says Dadhwal.

The 28-year-old is also excited about meeting Netherlands’ goalkeeper Guss Vogels, whom he considers his idol. Dadhwal remembers watching him play when he was growing up at the Chandigarh Hockey Academy (CHA).

“I have not met him personally yet but have watched his every single game. The fact that he is still playing and remains their main goalkeeper speaks volumes about his talent,” he says, heading towards the CHA to meet some of the youngsters practice