He was the captain of the Indian Hockey team that won the Olympic Gold Medal after 16 years in 1980. After the successful stint as a player, he coached the Indian National Team several times.
He was awarded Arjuna Award in (1979–1980) for his brilliant performance as a player in Olympic Games.
As a coach, he says that players should play in the major tournaments of the country as it builds the repute among the crowd and also sharpen their skills to play at different grounds. India provides a beautiful example of diverse cultures in different states and players should hone their skills by playing in all the major tournaments of the country held in various cities.
He had a long association with Punjabis as at the time he started playing, Indian team was full of Punjabis. He mentions that this helped me a lot to develop confidence in playing at different venues.
We present a telephonic interview with Baskaran.
