A knee injury to P.R. Sreejesh during the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup earlier this month put Akash Chikte firmly in the spotlight. The 24-year-old goalkeeper from Pune did not disappoint as India returned from Malaysia with a bronze medal.
Chikte had been in similar circumstances before, filling in for the experienced Sreejesh at the Asian Champions Trophy last year, when India overcame Pakistan in the final.
While Sreejesh continues to recover from injury, Chikte and Vikas Dahiya will take turns in goal as India heads into two competitions over the next four weeks: the Three Nations invitational tournament in Dusseldorf and the Hockey World League semifinal tournament in London.
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“It is the exposure over the past year that has helped me a lot,” said Chikte, at the SAI here on Friday. “After my first tournament for India (the 2016 Sutlan Azlan Shah Cup), I knew there was a lot I needed to work on, starting from improving my confidence levels. I’d never been in any junior India camp before. I got to play the senior level directly and I knew I was lacking in basics.”
India may have already qualified for December’s Hockey World League Final, but the team will still take the semifinal tournament seriously.
India begins its campaign in Pool-B against Scotland (June 15) before meeting Canada (June 17), Pakistan (June 18) and the Netherlands (June 20).
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There has been much talk, understandably, of the Pakistan fixture.
“We will look at this as any other match,” said Chikte. “I have played twice against Pakistan (2016 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and Asian Champions Trophy) and we ended up winning both the matches so I have a lot of confidence.”
Chikte credited Sreejesh and goalkeeping coach Bharat Chetri for his steady improvement. “I have learnt a lot under them. I used to watch Sreejesh when the national team used to train at Balewadi in Pune. His reflexes were excellent. I was inspired by him and he has helped me a lot since my first camp,” Chikte said.
“Working under Sreejesh and Bharat Chetri has been a big advantage for me. My focus at every session now is on stopping penalty corners.”