Shankar Laxman was the first goalkeeper to lead India at the Asian Games; now after so many decades comes even better honour for a goalie, with Bharat Chetri having been made the team leader of our London Olympic challenge.

The first goalkeeper ever to lead India at the Olympics, Bharat Chhetri is the perennial comeback man of Indian hockey. No other player has been dropped so often in recent times, only to come back into the national side stronger and better.

Born December 15, 1981, Chetri is one of five sons of an Armyman and perhaps that is responsible for his never-say-die spirit. Hailing from Darjeeling, a region not known for hockey prowess, Bharat first learnt the nuances of hockey at the Danapur Army School before joining the Sport Authority of India’s Centre of Excellence, Bangalore, in 1998. He acknowledges that the move away from home, though difficult at first, was the best thing that could have happened to him in his ambition of playing hockey.

He represented Karnataka at the Bangalore Junior nationals and Bihar at the Hyderabad Senior nationals and was adjudges the best goalkeeper at Bangalore. Before making senior national team debut at the Dhaka Gold Cup in 2001, he had already donned India colours at the Junior Asia Cup and the Poznan Challenge in 2000, the Akhbar Al-Youm Cup and the Samaranch Cup in 2001 and, most importantly, the Junior World Cup in 2001. India made it to the final of each one of the tournaments, winning the junior World Cup.

However, all his exploits on field could not help Chetri being in and out of the team between 2002 and 2004 before coach Rajinder Singh Jr. recalled him for the mini World Cup in 2005. He was one of the saving graces for India at the 2005 Champions Trophy in Chennai but still found himself ignored for national duty thereafter. In fact, at one point, he had been relegated to India’s C team, losing his spot not only in the national team but also the developmental B team.

However, coach Joaquim Carvalho recalled him yet again for the 2007 Sultan Azlan Cup. He was then again out for a while before coming back to the national side for the Azlan Shah Cup in 2010. Like his father, Chetri was also employed with the Indian Army before joining Canara Bank, and more than his skills or temperament, it is his mental toughness that has helped him reach this high.