By Rajeev Kumar
Bhubaneswar, Jan 15: He was electric while saving goals for Australia during the Champions Trophy here recently, but now in new colours for the HIL franchisee, Kalinga Lancers, goalkeeper Andrew Charter is happy playing for the first time in the ‘professional league’ because of the ‘money and the players’ participating from all major hockey playing nations of the world.
“I always wanted to play for my country. It has always inspired me since childhood,” Andrew said in a firm voice here Thursday at the Kalinga Staium, adding that he is also happy that he has got a chance to play in the HIL. “We have been given an opportunity to play in a professional league. The money is good, but more importantly you get the chance to play with best players of the world.”
Playing in the HIL is not easy for foreign players as it involves a lot of travel and exposure to varying weather conditions. Form the Australian summer to the mildly cold weather here and to the colder temperatures at Delhi and Mohali, Andrew will have to adjust to different conditions in a short span of time. However, the lanky Australian stated that weather will not be a concern for him.
“We don’t take cold as that much of a worry. We worry only when we go to places which are hotter,” stated Andrew. Delhi shouldn’t be too much of an issue. As long as we are playing hockey we are going to be warm on field,” he added with a smile.
Andrew, however, revealed that he might face some language problem during the tournament as many of the players in his side do not speak English. “It is difficult. Harjot (Singh) and many others in side do not speak English very much. But thankfully we have some guys who can translate,” he said.