Different blokes,same stroke

Sandeep is undoubtedly the bigger name,but Raghunath,though not as famous or flamboyant as his partner,is equally important. Every time he scores off a penalty corner,the defender knows the spotlight is on him: success will make him an instant star,failure would doom him to universal criticism. After more than half a decade in the Indian team,however,the burly Coorgi is ready for his big moment at the Olympics.

Earlier I used to get nervous. But now I take deep breaths,in those few seconds before actually taking a flick,I keep talking to myself. While a penalty corner is generally one of the high-pressure moments in a game,for a flicker,it is very important to be completely calm at that point. Even a heart beating faster than normal can disrupt the rhythm and mess up the shot, explains Raghunath.

Sandeep,however,does not think so much about his game. As flashy as he is on field,the Haryana player,largely responsible for putting India back in the Olympics with his 16 goals during the qualifiers,doesnt worry too much about understanding the science behind the penalty corner. For him,drag-flicking is simply a gift that he has managed to polish with hard work,to be counted among the worlds best specialists.

To be honest,I dont think so much during a game. In fact,it is impossible to think about the entire process when you have less than five seconds to complete a penalty corner. But after years of playing together and practicing,the pre-decided plans come into play automatically, he says,breaking down the intricate art to its most basic.

Its not easy. We practice for hours every day perfecting our patterns,and play the entire 70 minutes trying to earn those PCs,and its all over before you know. Whats more,it is not an individual job,there is an entire group of players involved in the process. For everyone to get his timing and accuracy bang on requires hard work and patience, says Raghunath.

Team effort

The desire to understand the process behind the practice,in Raghunaths case,helps him understand his own role as a part of a larger plan. The public only sees the flicker scoring,the team celebrating. Only the players know that a flicker is,in fact,only 20 per cent of the entire process. The most important person in the entire short-corner conversion drill is not the flicker but the pusher. He has to get everything bang on the speed of pushing the ball,the direction of shot,the accuracy,the timing and even his own run immediately after the push for a possible rebound and if he gets it right,8/10 it ends in a goal. We flickers simply walk away with the honours for putting the ball in, he says.

Thats being modest. For,against teams like Pakistan and Britain,putting the ball in isnt that easy. With rushers who dont bother avoiding injuries or warnings and come straight at the ball travelling at over 150kmph,a flicker needs to decide and shoot in nanoseconds hitting the rusher too high can earn a foul,hitting him too low can give the opposition chance to scuttle the move. Its 50-50,like everything else in life, Raghunath says.

Shoot before you think

Ask Sandeep the same question and his devil-may-care attitude gives a glimpse of why he is feared on the field. We are there to score goals,we score. I care about fouls but not the opposition. I know my shots are powerful enough to hurt someone. If someone still comes in the way,thats their problem. I dont think about the height of my shots; I simply hit them where I feel is the best chance of scoring, he says again,breaking down the entire complex process to its core scoring goals.

And so,as the Indian team works on its permutations and combinations during penalty corners in the last leg of their preparation for the Olympics,its two main hopes go about it in their own ways; the only thing uniting them is the intense desire to score as many as possible,and helping the team to succeed.