Indian football's charismatic custodian

Qaiser Mohammad Ali

Brahmanand Shankwalkar, Indian football's goalkeeping coach, will rely on his staunch faith in religion and his knowledge of human psychology to help the national team face superior opponents on its current exposure trip to England.

"When I coach, my understanding of human psychology helps me in giving players motivational lessons and confidence building," Shankwalkar, a former India captain, told India Abroad News Service, before leaving Delhi on Friday morning.

The former Salgaocar star says his priority is to help players concentrate on the game.

"Sometimes players take pressure on them," he said. "I help them ease tension and push them to concentrate on the job on hand."

Shankwalkar, who donned India colours from 1976 to 1986, has read several books on psychology, which help him in day-to-day coaching. Some of them were written by best-selling author Robert Schuller, like 'World's Greatest Comebacks', 'Tough Times Never Last but Tough Men Do' and 'If Success is Never Ending, Failure is Never Final'.

He has also read two popular titles by Dale Carnegie: 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' and 'How to Stop Worrying and Start Living', which has only broadened his outlook.

"These books have helped me get tough mentally and think positive, both as a player and coach," explained Shankwalkar.

But, he says, Shirdi's Sai Baba has been no less help for him, both during and after his 25-year playing career.

"I have so far visited Shirdi 19 times, the latest visit being this May," Shankwalkar, who has also represented Goa's Churchill Brothers club, said. "He has been very kind to me over the years. He has helped me overcome, miraculously, a few serious injuries and grave personal problems."

The Goa-based Shankwalkar began to believe in Sai Baba after one of his friends, Ashwin Cholera, suggested him to visit Shirdi in Maharashtra, not very far from Goa, when he broke his arm while playing in 1981. A Calcutta doctor had told him that his arm needed a major operation and that the chances of its success were only 50 per cent.

However, after Shankwalkar visited Shirdi -- and brought home the first statue of the saint -- he was operated upon successfully. "Only due to Sai Baba my operation turned out to be a success. It gave me great courage," said the former coach of the India-under 19 squad.

On another occasion, when he was having some "legal hitches" while building his second home in Goa, the soft-spoken Shankwalkar again visited Shirdi and brought home a marble statue of the deity as a good omen. "Soon after that, all the hitches disappeared, and I duly completed my house," he said.

"Sai Baba also helped me get the Arjuna Award (India's highest sports prize, something he was denied while representing India)," said Shankwalkar.

"Before I received the award on August 29, 1998, I had a visualization earlier that month, where I 'saw' a huge image with a piece of cloth tied to its head (similar to Sai Baba's)."

Shankwalkar has a regular companion, the Bhagwat Gita, the ultimate Hindu gospel, besides a few books on human psychology. "Even during my playing days, I used to carry the Gita," he disclosed. "When on tour with the team, I normally read it in the mornings, after the team's practice session. After reading it, I meditate for a while, before going to sleep."

Shankwalkar has no fixed term with the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the game's governing body. But he is not worried, as he also has to justify his role as the director, coaching with the Sports Authority of Goa. This post was specially created in 1998 after he was honoured with the Arjuna award. He also looks after the youth development programme of the Goa Football Association.

Indo-Asian News Service