Thriving on the French connection

Maharashtra, made up of players from the Bombay and Air-India teams, were without the services of Dhanraj Pillay. Yet, Gavin made his mark not by taking over Dhanraj’s mantle of main striker, but by boosting the team morale and guiding them like a seasoned captain.

However, Gavin admits that the side misses Dhanraj, his Mahindra, Bombay and India teammate. “He is a great striker and, obviously, his presence would have made a big difference,” he says.

Maharashtra coach Clarence Lobo assesses Gavin’s role in the general team gameplan. “He is essentially a left-winger, but had fitted in well in the midfield role. With the game undergoing a few changes like no off-side rule, it is important that the midfield remains the centre of activity.”Gavin has also chipped in with the odd goal like he did against Bihar in the semi-finals.

Of course, Maharashtra were defeated by their robust rivals Punjab in the Games final as Maharashtra created opportunities, Punjab got the goals.Gavin, who played for FC Lyon in France is pragmatic in his assessment of the standard of hockey over there. “Obviously, the standard of the game does not match up to that of India,” he confesses.

It was Gavin’s first stint as a professional, and three months later, he is wiser from the lessons he learnt. “The personal coaching that you get, makes you a mentally stronger player. You learn to run off the ball, to utilise the spaces in the field…The biggest gain is confidence,” he explains.

As to whether Indian players would benefit from going abroad for professional assignments, Gavin says, “That depends from on the individual. I learned all the off-the-ball skills abroad. Somebody else might do so in any other way.”

Gavin expects to go back to France but that depends both his teams’ approval. “I do not know what Mahindras, my employers, and the Indian Hockey Federation wants. As it is, we do not have any immediate matches involving the country,” he concludes.