"I want to be on that flight to Paris" - India's goalkeeper Krishan Pathak sets his sights on Paris 2024 Olympics
Since India's bronze medal-winning campaign at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Krishan Bahadur Pathak's rise has been one of the nicer stories of Indian hockey. While PR Sreejesh remains the leading goalkeeper in the Indian team, Pathak's brilliance has forced the Indian team to accommodate him in the side.
The result has been a system where the goalkeeping duties alternate between the veteran goalie and his younger teammate with each quarter. This system was instituted during Graham Reid's time as coach and his successor Craig Fulton has kept it intact.
However, with just 16 players allowed in the squads of participating teams at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Pathak's place isn't fully certain. The 27-year-old knows this but is still hopeful of making it to the mega event in France.
"The coach hasn’t told us the team composition for the Olympics. My aim is to be ready 100 percent when the call comes," he said in an interaction with PTI.
"There is a healthy competition going on within the squad to earn a place in the Olympics-bound team. Every player feels that he can be part of that squad. I am no different, and I want to be on that flight to Paris," he added.
Working and playing alongside a legend like PR Sreejesh is bound to be a great learning experience for anyone. Krishan Pathak stated how he gains from being the understudy to the former India captain.
"It’s dream for me to work with and play alongside Sree bhai. We are very comfortable with each other. We share a lot of information, especially when one of us commits a mistake. We point that out to each other," the Kapurthala-based goalie said.
“Whenever I commit a mistake, he will come and tell me what went wrong and how to rectify it. Similarly, I will do that when Sree bhai makes a mistake. We have a great bonding between us, on and off the field," Pathak further stated.
Krishan Pathak looks forward to upcoming challenges
India recently got whitewashed 5-0 in a Test series in Australia. However, all is not lost, as there are reasons to be optimistic about India's chances at Paris 2024 Olympics.
Under coach Craig Fulton, the team seems to have become a more competitive side following their disappointing outing in the World Cup last year. Pathak spoke positively about the India coach and his style of management.
"When he (Fulton) spots a weakness, he starts working on it immediately. He hates wasting time. When we went to Australia recently, our attack and defense were not working as we lost the series 0-5. Now, in this camp, we are working on those aspects under Fulton, who believes in immediate course correction. I think it will reflect in Paris."
India's next challenge is a set of FIH Pro League matches in Europe. Pathak sees them as an opportunity to get better, as according to him:
"We’ve played eight Pro-League matches in Ranchi and Rourkela. Now, we have some more Pro-League matches coming up ahead of the Olympics. We will meet some of those teams in the Olympics too."
"That familiarity will help us. As a goalkeeper, I will look to source as much knowledge from the Pro League matches about our possible opponents in the Olympics," Pathak added.
The next set of matches for India will begin on May 22 in Antwerp, Belgium. India will take on Argentina in their opening contest of this round of games.