It’s a dream, says goalkeeper Chikte

 By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Apr 16, 2016

WITH the silver medal dangling around his neck, India goalkeeper Akash Chikte was over the moon. Never in his dreams had he thought that he would play title match in his debut tournament. On Saturday, India won silver in the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Tournament at Ipoh, Malaysia after going down to world number 1 Australia 4-0.
Chikte said he learnt a lot from his maiden international tournament.
“I have never thought that I would play final in my first international tournament. It’s like icing on the cake. First my direct international call in the senior team and then a silver medal. It’s like a dream,” the goalkeeper hailing from Yavatmal, told ‘The Hitavada’ on phone from Ipoh.
Chikte has never played for junior India team and directly found a place in the main squad.
Chikte was the first choice for the summit clash against Australia. “Just before the match I was informed that I would be guarding the post... I was very happy to play in the final. I was not nervous. I kept calm and was very cool,” said the BEG Pune custodian.
Chikte, who plays for Ranchi Rays in Hockey India League, said the franchisee-based tournament helped him a lot during Azlan Shah meet.
“HIL is a great platform to learn and gain confidence. My stint with Ranchi Rays helped me in this tournament,” he said.
This is just the beginning and Chikte said he has a long way to go.
“I will have to work really hard from here on. There are lots of positives but also have to learn a lot. I will have to improve my calling. How to call players while there is an attack... How to ask players to mark opponents and many more thing,” he said.
“This medal means a lot to me, for my hometown Yavatmal and also for Vidarbha and Maharashtra. I hope it will give a boost to the game in entire region,” Chikte concluded.