I was one of the selectors when gangling Gagan Ajit Singh was picked for the Air India Academy. He made international debut when I was the chief coach. That was in 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. I did not select him for the Asian Games that year because, he was just 16 and I had experienced L. Prabhakaran. He missed the gold but being very young, he had time on his side.

But I knew he will grow stronger and stronger, and my belief was strengthened now. At Chennai, my senior Ajit Singh’s son Gagan Ajit will lead our challenge in the prestigious Champions Trophy. At the out set I wish him success. One thing sure about Gagan is, he has adequate leadership qualities that can take India places. He can score exciting glas, good at tackling. At some time I even played him at left-half, where he did reasonably well.

It’s good India has been in the Champions league for the last four years. Unless you are not in the top league, one tends to loathe. In the decade gone by we were playing only the second rung teams. That way the Chennai edition comes as a great boon for India to lift their image a notch better.

Now the question is, whether India will be able to match our expectation. Will Chennai make a difference? We finished fourth all the previous three editions and this time things should be better.

The unexpected non availability of Dilip Tirkey should not bother the team beyond a point. At least for the reason that he is not among the PC hitters. No player in the team is extraordinary brilliant. This can be taken as a weakness or fortune. It depends on the mindset. Youngsters who got the break should avail the chances and stake their claim. They should not be allowed to panic.

Though by and large I agree with the team that had been selected, I have some reservations too. First and foremost is, Deepak Thakur was not replaced with a better player than him. Thakur could have made the difference at Chennai. Same is true in the case of pivot Bimal Lakra too. Devesh Chauhan was dropped as goalkeepers Adrian D’Souza and Bharat Chetri are certainly showing class. Devesh needs perhaps rest and a bit of motivation.

My advice to Rajinder Singh Junior who has the enormous task of doing something at the Chennai will be like this: Go match by match. Each team studies us more than what we do on them. Carefully watch every other games and plan our each match accordingly. There is no single formula for winning.

A s2h Special