Barog (Himachal Pradesh), May 19: Lack of form of the country's number one goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan, just a few months, before the Olympics may be a cause of concern for the Indian hockey team, but the player himself is confident of bouncing back to his best at the right time. Chauhan's brilliant outing in the Champions Trophy at Amstelveen, Holland last year prompted the experts to compare him with the best in the world, but a few months later his shoddy showings forced the Indian Hockey Federation to make a frantic search for goalkeepers to add to the team's bench strength.
But Chauhan blamed a tight international schedule for his lack of concentration and said he was working hard at the fitness camp here to rejuvenate himself.
"Yes I admit it. But it's due to separate reasons. We played a lot of matches recently and it has its effect on a player. It also affected my concentration," Chauhan told.
"But now at this camp I am a lot relaxed. Just trying to get back my concentration. This long break is refreshing and I am looking forward to the Olympics."
Something was terribly wrong with Chauhan's form was evident in the Olympic qualifiers in Madrid when the team management replaced him mid-way through the match against Pakistan with young Bharat Chetri. Even in the four-nation meets in Australia the goalkeeper failed to impress one and all.
Bureau Report